According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, the Russian Federation Council said on the 12th local time that Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed to appoint Andrei Belousov as Russian Defense Minister.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a presidential decree appointing former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu as secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the Kremlin press service said. On the same day, Putin also signed a presidential decree removing Nikolai Patrushev from the post of secretary of the Security Council and appointing him to another position.
Andrei Belousov (data map)
Born in Moscow in 1959, the 65-year-old Andrei Belousov has served as Minister of Economic Development, Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs, and First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
The appointment of Belousov was "taken by surprise" by the outside world, as a civilian official specializing in economics and not known for his battlefield knowledge. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said at a news conference that the arrangement made sense because Russia was approaching the situation in the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, when military and law enforcement authorities accounted for 7.4 percent of state spending.
Peskov said it was crucial to ensure that defense spending was in the overall interest of the country, which is why Putin now wants a civilian with an economic background to serve as defense minister. "The battlefield is now dominated by those who are more open to innovation, ready to introduce it in the fastest way possible, and it is very important to introduce the economy of the military sector into the national economy."
Peskov stressed that the Russian Ministry of Defense should be absolutely open to innovations, the introduction of the most advanced ideas, and the creation of conditions conducive to economic competitiveness.
Shoigu
Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that after Shoigu was appointed secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, he will continue to work in areas familiar to him. Shoigu will be responsible for managing the affairs of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation of Russia, and he will also serve as deputy chairman of the Russian Military-Industrial Commission.
Shoigu is a longtime ally of Putin and has been defense minister since 2012. The personnel change provided Shoigu with a position that was technically considered more senior than that of the defense minister, ensuring continuity and saving Shoigu's face. However, the Wall Street Journal reported that according to analysts, the transfer of Shoigu to the secretary of the National Security Council may be considered a demotion, but this does not mean that Shoigu is completely out.
According to the information released by the Russian Federation Council (upper house of parliament) on the 12th, Putin submitted to the Russian Federation Council on the same day the list of heads of relevant departments of the new government. These include the nomination of Sergei Lavrov as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Naryshkin as Head of Foreign Intelligence Service, Alexander Kulenkov as Minister of Emergency Situations, Vladimir Kolokolitsev as Minister of Internal Affairs, Konstantin Trichenko as Minister of Justice, and Alexander Bortnikov as Head of the Federal Security Service.
The Russian Federation Council is expected to consider Putin's nomination for cabinet on May 13 and 14 local time. According to TASS, the Russian Federation Council needs to consider the nominations and report back to Putin on the results of the deliberations within a week, and if there are no objections, Putin will sign a presidential decree to appoint the relevant personnel.
Putin was sworn in in the Kremlin on the 7th to begin his fifth presidential term. He officially appointed Mishustin as prime minister of the new government on the 10th. Putin signed an order on the 11th approving the new government structure plan submitted by Mishustin.
Source丨Comprehensive