Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday named a surprise civilian economist as his new defense minister in an attempt to set Russia up for victory in Ukraine by making better use of the defense budget and leveraging greater innovation. Preparation for economic warfare.
Putin proposed that the conflict has lasted for more than two years and both sides have suffered heavy casualties. Andrei BelousovThe 65-year-old former deputy prime minister who specializes in economics replaces his long-time ally Sergey Shoigu, 68, as defense minister.
The Kremlin said Putin wanted Shoigu, who has been in charge of defense affairs since 2012, to become Russia’s powerful Security Council secretary, replacing current Nikolay Patrushev and taking charge of the military-industrial complex. Friends and allies.
Patrushev will get a new job that has not yet been announced.
The changes, which are certain to be approved by lawmakers, are the most significant changes Putin has made to the military command since taking office. Send tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine In February 2022, he called it a “special military operation.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the change made sense because Russia was approaching the situation in the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, when military and law enforcement authorities accounted for 7.4% of gross domestic product (GDP).
Peskov said this meant it was crucial to ensure that such spending was consistent with and better integrated into the country’s overall economy, which is why Putin now wants a civilian economist to take on the role of defense minister.
“Whoever is more open to innovation will win on the battlefield,” Peskov said.
Belousov, a former economy minister who is very close to Putin, shares his vision of rebuilding a strong country and works with Putin’s top technocrats who want greater innovation, And be open to new ideas.
Belousov played an important role in overseeing Russia’s drone program.
The shake-up, which caught elites off guard, is a sign that Putin is doubling down on the war in Ukraine and hoping to tap more of Russia’s economy into the war effort after the West has so far unsuccessfully sought to hit the economy with sanctions.
economic war
Despite the toughest sanctions ever imposed on a major economy, and despite the failures of the Russian military that were exposed soon after the invasion, Russian economists have so far largely ensured economic stability and growth.
“The proposal to appoint a leading palace economist and a leading state minister of an economic bloc as defense minister could mean that Putin is planning to win the war on defense industry plants and international markets,” Russian Defense Minister Alexander Panov said. Officer, currently a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia and Eurasia Center.
“In this case, the winning strategy will not be mobilization and breakthrough, but slow pressure on Ukraine using the advantages of the Russian military-industrial complex and the entire economy, which should obviously allow Ukraine to operate more efficiently as a front and rear .
Putin’s move, while unexpected, maintains balance at the top of the complex system of personal loyalties that make up the current political system.
The personnel change provides Shoigu with a position that is technically considered more senior than a position in the Ministry of Defense, ensuring continuity and saving Shoigu’s face. Russia’s chief of general staff, Valery Gerasimov, will stay on and play a more practical role in directing the war.
Shoigu was severely criticized by Russian military bloggers for forcing Russian troops to conduct a series of retreats in 2022. Having led an abortive rebellion, he hoped to eventually overthrow Shoigu. Prigozhin later died in a plane crash.
Mark Galeotti, director of the London-based Mayak intelligence consultancy, said the wartime Russian defense minister’s job was to ensure the military had everything it needed, and Gerasimov’s job was “critical” because he now directly Report to it.
“In this context, it makes sense to have an economist, someone who has been talking about the need to basically subordinate large parts of the economy to the needs of the defense sector. Now that’s basically the job of the financial administrator, don’t Louusov can do that,” Galeotti said.
The change could be seen as an attempt by Putin to impose tighter scrutiny on defense spending to ensure funds are spent efficiently following the appointment of Shoigu ally and Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov. defendant State prosecutors received kickbacks worth nearly $11 million.
Putin left behind Alexander Bortnikov and Sergei Naryshkin, the heads of the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
The Kremlin said the country’s senior foreign minister Sergey Lavrov would also stay on.
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