Russian President Putin’s reshuffle: New Defense Minister, key cabinet changes
Russian President Vladimir Putin reshuffles the government, dismissing Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu
Russian President Vladimir Putin made significant changes to the composition of the new government on Sunday after taking office for a fifth term.
Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Security Council Secretary Patrushev have been dismissed from their positions. Shoigu has been appointed as the new Secretary of the National Security Council.
A new Defense Minister?
In the reshuffle, former Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov has been nominated to succeed Sergey Shoigu as the Defense Minister.
Andrey Belousov, born on March 17, 1959, has an impressive resume. Belousov, who previously served as first deputy prime minister, is a civilian.
He graduated with honors from the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University in 1981 and later worked at prestigious institutions such as the Central Institute of Economics and Mathematics of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the National Institute of Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Throughout his career, Belousov has held various key roles, including Director of the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting and Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade.
He also served as Director of the Government Economics and Finance Department and held the position of Minister of Economic Development. From 2013 to 2020, he served as Deputy Prime Minister, and on January 21, 2020, he was appointed as the First Deputy Prime Minister.
New cabinet proposed
The entire cabinet proposed by Putin is as follows:
Defense Minister: Andrey Belousov
Minister of Interior: Vladimir Kolokoltsev
Foreign Minister: Sergey Lavrov
Minister of Emergency Situations: Aleksandr Kurenkov
Minister of Justice: Konstantin Chuychenko
Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR): Sergey Naryshkin
Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB): Aleksandr Bortnikov
Chairman of the Court of Accounts: Boris Kovalchuk
Federal Protection Service: Dmitriy Kochnev
Source: Newsroom