Shoigu out, Belusov in?
But also: Patrushev out, Shoigu in!
You may have just read/heard about the news, circulating on Western media (e.g. Reuters), of Vladimir Putin proposing Andrei Belousov (see picture above), a former Deputy Prime Minister specialised in economics, as a new Defence Minister, in place of incumbent Sergei Shoigu (see picture below).
At first I could not believe it, but then I found confirmation on Russian media, such as Ria Novosti (in Russian).
This is as big as the offensive that Russia started towards Karkhov just a couple of days ago, for which I refer you to the latest SitRep by Simplicius The Thinker.
However, it must be said that Sergeu Shoigu has NOT been sacked/fired, as reported by some western media and news outlets, but he has been appointed as Secretary of the Security Council in place of incumbent Nikolai Patrushev.
Moreover, like Belusov, Shoigu, who has served as Minister of Defence of Russia since 2012, had also a career in the civil service (he was Minister of Emergency Situation between 1991 and 2012).
What follows is the translation of the aforementioned Ria Novosti article.
Putin suggested appointing Belousov as defence minister
Putin proposed to appoint Belousov as Russia's defence minister
MOSCOW, 12 May - RIA Novosti. Vladimir Putin has proposed to appoint Andrei Belousov as defence minister, according to the Federation Council's Telegram channel.
“The Federation Council has received nominations proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the heads of a number of federal ministries and agencies. For consultations proposed: <...> for the post of Defence Minister - Belousov Andrei Removich” the statement said.
In his turn, the President appointed Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu as secretary of the Security Council. In another decree, Putin dismissed Nikolai Patrushev from this post.
Andrei Belousov has been in public service since 2006. In 2006-2008, he was Deputy Minister of Economic Development. In 2008-2012 Belousov became Director of the Department of Economics and Finance of the Russian Government. In 2012-2013, he took the position of Minister of Economic Development.
On 24 June 2013 Belousov became assistant to the President, on 13 June 2018 he was reappointed to this post.
On 21 January 2020, Andrei Belousov was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister.
The full list of candidates is as follows:
Minister of Internal Affairs - Vladimir Kolokoltsev;
Minister of Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters - Alexander Kurenkov;
Minister of Foreign Affairs - Sergey Lavrov;
Minister of Justice - Konstantin Chuichenko;
Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service - Sergey Naryshkin;
Director of the Federal Security Service - Alexander Bortnikov;
Director of the Federal Service of National Guard Forces - Viktor Zolotov;
Director of the Federal Guard Service - Dmitry Kochnev;
Head of the Main Directorate of Special Programmes of the President - Alexander Linz;
Boris Kovalchuk, Chairman of the Accounts Chamber.
As it is specified, the members of the Federation Council will hold consultations on this issue at the meetings of the committees on 13 May and at the meeting of the Upper House of Parliament on 14 May.
On 10 May, Vladimir Putin appointed Mikhail Mishustin as Prime Minister. The prime minister has already submitted proposals to the president on the structure of federal executive bodies, the head of state signed the relevant decree earlier on Saturday.
In addition, the Prime Minister has submitted to the State Duma the nominees for Deputy Prime Minister and a number of ministers. On Sunday, the committees of the Lower House of parliament approved them. Now the parliamentarians are ready for the sessions to be held on Monday and Tuesday. They will consider the approval of Deputy Prime Ministers and a number of ministers. The relevant draft resolutions have been submitted to the State Duma.
I have just checked Andrei Martyanov's blog, Reminiscence of the Future, and he has just released this post (emphasis mine):
Belousov will become Defense Minister, Shoigu becomes the Secretary of Security Council instead of Patrushev. Shoigu, however, moves to his new position retaining much (and getting even more) of responsibilities he had as Defense Minister--as the head of the Commission on Military-Industrial Complex, plus he will be in charge of weapons' trade (in Russian). Here are some details:
According to Spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Putin opted to assign a “civilian” to lead the Defense Ministry, citing the necessity for the agency to embrace innovation and progressive concepts. Peskov further mentioned that Shoigu, in his capacity as secretary of the Security Council, will serve as the president’s deputy within the commission on the military-industrial complex. The Kremlin’s spokesman added that Valery Gerasimov, the head of the General Staff of the Defense Ministry, will remain in his current role. Peskov noted that it will be revealed in the coming days who Nikolai Patrushev’s successor will be after his departure from the position of Security Council secretary.
Belousov is an "executioner" who will mop up whatever is left in Defense Ministry in terms of its apparatus corruption and streamlining many of the decisions in terms of everyday operations. This also has to do, methinks, with Timur Ivanov's and his network of economic criminals (and possibly foreign intel assets) who used SMO for their own interests. Nothing will change in terms of General Staff, that is people who run SMO.
UPDATE (13/05/2024): Just a minor update to include a link to the latest article by Simplicius The Thinker commenting on Putin’s cabinet reshuffle.
Thanks, Ismaele.
It's nice to see these translations. Quite a difference from the propagandistic hyperbole coming from the globalist media.
Thanks for your included analysis also!