Pictured is Putin
The topic of this issue, suddenly, Putin is changing his commander!
Putin is going to change his defense minister, which is the first time since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine that Russia has made a major decision on the military command.
On May 12, according to a statement by the Federation Council of Russia, Putin officially nominated Belousov, the first deputy prime minister of Russia, as the new defense minister, while Shoigu was appointed secretary of the Russian Federal Security Council, responsible for the work of the Military-Technical Cooperation Bureau, and served as deputy chairman of the military-industrial committee. As for the former secretary of federal security, he was removed from his post and used for other purposes.
Shoigu has been in the post of defense minister for 12 years, during which time he has been discreet. Rooted in the national defense sector for many years, he has long been familiar with all aspects of national defense work, and he is also very handy in doing it.
The picture shows Belousov
And Belousov, who was nominated by Putin this time, was previously the first deputy prime minister of Russia in charge of the economy, and he has almost nothing to do with the military. Therefore, the change of Russian defense minister this time caught many Russian elites off guard.
At present, the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield is fierce, the Russian army has just launched a large-scale ground offensive against Ukraine's second largest city, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict will enter a new stage, and Putin suddenly changed his generals at this time, what is the reason behind this?
When changing generals, the first thing that may come to everyone's mind is that this will not work. Some people believe that Putin was dissatisfied with the performance of the army under Shoigu in actual combat, so he removed him from the post of defense minister and replaced him with a new one.
This statement seems to have some truth at first glance, after all, the Russian army has indeed exposed a lot of problems on the battlefield. A special military operation has been fought for more than two years, and even in the second half of the first year, it was once pushed back by the Ukrainian army, and at the same time, Russia's air force and navy have also suffered huge losses, a large number of strategic equipment, and military bases have been lost, which has had a great impact on the overall combat strength of the Russian army. Therefore, as Russia's defense minister, he should be held accountable for it.
But in fact, a careful analysis of the background of Putin's change of generals and the new personnel transfer may not be so simple.
The picture shows Shoigu
First of all, Shoigu was not removed, but transferred, so to speak, "promoted". After the removal of his Minister of Defense, he was appointed Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. In the ranking of Russian government departments and officials, the FSC is only after the president, the prime minister, the chairman of the Federation Council, and the chairman of the State Duma, and its rank is much higher than that of the defense minister, and it is mainly responsible for national security work, and the scope of responsibilities is larger than that of the defense minister, who is only responsible for the work of the army.
So from this point of view, it is difficult to say that Putin was dissatisfied with Shoigu and replaced him.
At the same time, Belousov, who took over this time, is an economist and graduated from the Department of Economics of Lomonosov Moscow State University with a doctorate in economics. A position mainly responsible for the military, which is filled by people with economic backgrounds, shows that Putin wants to change the situation that the country's economic burden is too heavy in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
The picture shows Peskov
According to Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, Russia's current defense budget is 6.7 percent of GDP, close to 7.4 percent during the Cold War. This is a high level, although Russia is currently in a state of war, and it is normal for national defense to begin to increase, but this situation should not be maintained for a long time, otherwise there is a risk that the Cold War will be dragged down or even disintegrated.
How to sustain the war while maintaining the country's economy is beyond Shoigu's ability, so a doctor of economics like Belousov is needed.
Of course, there is also a great deal of uncertainty about having an economist with no experience in military management as defense minister. How to govern the army, how to maximize the role of the army, Belousov still needs to cross the river by feeling the stones. However, the actual direct leader of the Russian army is Putin, and the Minister of Defense only needs to carry out and convey Putin's orders, so as long as the orders are strictly implemented, it is not so important whether there is experience or not.
At the same time, this also shows that Putin has great confidence in winning the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, so he can boldly change generals. At present, the Russian army has an absolute advantage on the battlefield, so for Russia this is already a war that is almost guaranteed to be won, that is, no matter who is in charge of the military, it will not change the outcome.
So since Putin wants to grasp both the military and the economy, in this situation where there are almost definite results in the military, replacing economists can not only win the war, but also grasp the economy, killing two birds with one stone.
The picture shows Zelensky
In the two years of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, both Ukraine and Russia have made many major personnel adjustments, including Zelensky's replacement of the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army Zaluzhny, and Russia's replacement of the commander-in-chief of the Navy Yevmenov, as well as Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov and Russian Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov, who were dismissed for corruption.
These frequent major personnel transfers show that both sides are trying to change the current situation and find a new direction for breakthroughs, and the replacement is not just as simple as changing the mind, but an important layout, which is related to the change of strategic direction, for example, after Syrsky took office, the Ukrainian army's combat mode has changed a lot, and the Russian army has built an asymmetric operation, trying to use large-scale drones to destroy the important facilities and equipment of the Russian army, and has achieved great results.
Therefore, it is not difficult to foresee that after Putin changes his new defense minister, the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield will also usher in a new stage. At present, the Russian army is opening a second battlefield in Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine, and the offensive is rapid, taking 9 settlements and capturing 110 square kilometers of land in two days.
The picture shows the Russian-Ukrainian front
At the same time, according to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian army has also moved in the Kherson region, which makes the Ukrainian army afraid to move troops from there to support Kharkiv. If the Russian army attacks from both directions at the same time, the Ukrainian army will be in a passive position. It can be seen from this that now the Russian army has completely gained the initiative on the battlefield, and Russia has the final say on when to attack and where to fight. The next Russia-Ukraine battlefield will be more intense.
As the saying goes, "Those who make good use of people will make those who have materials do their best, and those who have knowledge will do their best." Not only in war, at any time, talent is the top priority, a leader can have no talent, but as long as people are used well, they can still survive. Now Zelensky and Putin are trying to find a breakthrough through substitutions, but what the final outcome will be depends on whose mastery is better.