Following the earthquake in Moscow's Kremlin. - Putin Appoints New War Minister
Andrei Bjeloussov, the current deputy head of government and a Moscow native, will be taking over. He studied economics in the Russian capital and then worked in research for several years. In 2006, he transitioned to the civil service and was even promoted to Minister for Economic Development for a year in 2012. Putin, the Kremlin dictator, is well acquainted with him having been his top economic advisor until 2020 and then becoming deputy head of government. Now, he's slated to become the Minister of Defense.
Interestingly, Bjeloussov lacks any military background and instead focuses on the economy.
Following the path of a war economy
Alexander Dubovy, a Russian expert, remarks about Russia's new war minister in his X article, stating that Bjeloussov is perceived as a "proven expert and ideologically neutral technocrat." His main objective will be to facilitate even closer cooperation between the military, the government, and the economy.
Essentially, maintaining Putin's war economy!
Nico Lange, a military expert, also wrote in X that Bjeloussov would become the "Minister for the War Economy."
This is further evidenced by Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov's statement to journalists on Sunday evening that the Kremlin plans to position an economic official as Defense Minister with Russia's security budget at 6.6 percent of gross domestic product. "This necessitates attention," Peskov explained.
He continued, "On the battlefield, whoever is more accepting of innovation will emerge victorious. At this point, the president has decided that a non-military individual should lead the defense ministry."
The atmosphere in Moscow is buzzing with excitement. Duma deputy Sergei Gavrilov attested that Bjeloussov was the "best candidate" for growing the Russian defense industry complex and implementing new technologies.
On the other hand, Shoigu is anticipating the position of Secretary of the Russian Security Council, which advises Russia on foreign and security policy. Putin is not abandoning his long-standing companion.
Recently, rumors of Shoigu's dismissal from the Ministry of Defense intensified. Timur Ivanov, Shoigu's deputy, was arrested on corruption charges – a potential indication of a power struggle within the Russian military and security apparatus.
Shoigu has been under fire since the start of the Ukraine war and has been harshly criticized by pro-regime media for Russia's failures. There was hardly any support from Putin at that time. Additionally, Shoigu was unpopular among the troops and was also perceived as corrupt.
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Source: symclub.org
