Putin Replaces Long-Time Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu

Russian strongman Vladimir Putin (top, right) sacked his defence minister, Sergei Shoigu (top, left), on Sunday. Shoigu had just last year been the subject of an attempted Russian coup by quickly slain warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin (bottom, right).

General Sergei Shoigu was reviewing troops in Red Square, Moscow, alongside his long-time ally Putin last week. The announcement of his removal was made on Sunday night and he is being shuffled to the Russian Security Council, where he will join former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, also a Putin ally who apparently outlived his own usefulness.

The impression this soft-landing new job is just for the sake of appearances remains, however, given that the removal of Shoigu comes just weeks after one of his closest associates, Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov, was arrested and then jailed on bribery charges. As noted, observers interpreted the arrest as a move against Shoigu himself, who was the target of the Prigozhin coup last year on claims of corruption and military failure.

The half-Siberian-Tuvan (outer Mongolia) and half-Ukrainian Shoigu is a trained engineer and has held ultimate military responsibility for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Putin is replacing Shoigu with economist Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov (bottom, left).

While Kremlinology is an inexact science and understanding Putin’s opaque motives is always difficult, rumors surrounding the move suggest the dismissal is a sign of Putin’s dissatisfaction with the progress of his ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The decision to appoint an economist to be the next military boss may reflect the degree to which the war is impacting Russia’s economy.

Indeed, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke on behalf of the Kremlin and said the change reflected the opinion that the Russian army needs to “embrace innovation.” It should be “totally open” to advanced ideas and the establishing of conditions for economic competitiveness”, Peskov said, suggesting an internal view that the war may be costing too much money.

Peskov praised Belousov for having “quite successfully headed the Russian Economic Development Ministry previously.” Another spokesman said “Belousov… will be tasked with modernizing the Russian army.”

Russian state media has also telegraphed that a “reshuffle” of the leadership of the military will follow, including potentially the recently appointed ‘General Armageddon‘ Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian general staff, himself given the post in a bid to speed up the Ukraine war.

While Putin had stuck with him until now, Shoigu had been a lightning rod for criticism from within Russia over the conduct of the invasion of Ukraine, which instead of being a rapid strike against Kyiv and the eastern regions degenerated into a meat-grinder of trench warfare and execution-by drone. In June 2023, late chief Yevgeny Prigozhin led the Wagner Group rebellion against the government, driving a convoy of military vehicles from Ukraine into Russia, getting over half the way towards Moscow itself.

Prigozhin blamed Shoigu for Russia’s military failures in Ukraine and demanded his removal, but the rebellion failed and within weeks Prigozhin died in a mysterious plane crash alongside several members of the Wagner leadership, leading to rampant speculation of assassination.