On the eve of Putin's visit to China, Russia's high-level leadership began a "big change of blood," and at a critical moment, Mishustin received a phone call from the Chinese side. After the opening of the "Putin 5.0 era", what kind of "big change" has the top level of the Russian government experienced? In the phone call to Mishustin, what signals did the Chinese side send?
According to Reuters news, on May 12, local time, the sixth day of the "Putin 5.0 era", the Russian cabinet ushered in a "big change" - Belousov, who previously served as the first deputy prime minister, was appointed as the new defense minister, and the current Russian Defense Minister Shoigu was transferred to the post of secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation and was in charge of the military-industrial complex.
Although it is normal for the cabinet to be reshuffled and personnel adjustments are made, it is unusual considering that this is a "major decision" made by Putin on the military command after the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. You must know that the new Defense Minister Belousov has mostly held government positions related to the economy before, and he is a non-military person in the true sense, and it is obviously quite challenging for him to lead the Russian army to deal with the intensifying conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
So, what is the reason why Putin has made such a major personnel adjustment? In this regard, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov's "explanation" is that Russia's current situation is somewhat similar to that of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and it is necessary to ensure that defense spending is in line with the overall interests of the country, and it is also necessary to include the economy of the powerful sector in the national economy. To put it simply, the Putin government intends to devote more Russian economic resources to the war, so it urgently needs a professional to "coordinate" defense spending in order to fight a "protracted war" with NATO countries.
It is worth mentioning that Putin's personnel adjustment seems to be a "big move", but in fact he is quite cautious. Because Gerasimov, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian army, who is actually in charge of military command, continues to remain in office, and the top leaders of Russia's foreign intelligence services, the Federal Security Service and other key military intelligence departments have not been replaced, which means that the operational deployment of the Russian army on the front line will not change with the replacement of the defense minister. Some analysts say that having these "professionals" in charge of specific military operations and Belousov in charge of defense spending may be able to make better use of the advantages of the Russian military-industrial complex and the overall economy to help Russia achieve its operational goals.
Of course, some analysts believe that one of the major reasons for the change of Russian defense minister is that Putin's trust in Shoigu is no longer what it used to be. You must know that after the Wagner incident, Moscow's doubts about Shoigu have always existed, and Shoigu's deputy, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov, was just arrested on suspicion of corruption and bribery some time ago, which also had a certain impact on Shoigu's status. Now, Putin has reappointed Shoigu as secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, which is a higher-ranking but no longer holds military power, perhaps to "promote and surrender" this old friend.
Some experts said that on the eve of its departure for China, the Putin government made a major readjustment of the cabinet and started a new political cycle in the form of a "big blood change." It is very likely that this is due to the consideration that "if you want to go outside, you must first settle the inside." Judging from the news released by the Russian media, Putin has nominated the current Prime Minister Mishustin to the State Duma as the prime minister of the new government, which means that the Russian federal government will continue to move forward in the direction of its previous work.
It has been learned that the Chinese high-level has called Mishustin on 12 August to congratulate him on his re-election to the post of prime minister of the Russian Federation. The Chinese side pointed out that under the strategic guidance of the Chinese and Russian heads of state, the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination between the two countries in the new era has maintained sound and steady development. The Chinese side hopes to work together with Prime Minister Mishustin to make new contributions to enriching China-Russia relations and strengthening practical cooperation between the two countries.
Through these remarks, it is not difficult to find that the Chinese side maintains an objective and neutral attitude towards Russia's cabinet adjustment. Compared with the personnel adjustments made by the Russian side, China hopes to deepen and develop bilateral relations. It can be said that the Chinese side immediately called Prime Minister Mishustin in the hope that China-Russia relations will continue to develop well and move forward steadily.