Shoigu replaced as defence minister by civilian in post-election reshuffle 

Vladimir Putin named First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov to replace Sergey Shoigu as Russia’s Defence Minister on Sunday, marking an end to Shoigu’s almost 12-year tenure in the key role.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov explained Putin’s decision to appoint a civilian to head the country’s crucially important Defence Ministry by stressing the need to introduce innovations. 

“It is important to integrate the economy of the power bloc into the country’s economy so that it matches the dynamics of the moment,” Peskov said in comments reported by state owned news agency TASS on Sunday evening.

Shoigu, whose political future has been looking increasingly uncertain since he presided over the disastrous invasion of Ukraine in 2022, has been appointed Secretary of Russia’s Security Council, where he will replace Nikolay Patrushev, according to a decree issued by Putin on Sunday evening.

Belousov, who was appointed Russia’s first deputy prime minister by Putin in January 2020 is a former economic development minister who served in the Presidential Administration as an aide to Putin between 2013 and 2020, according to the Russian government’s official website.