Putin appoints a bean counter to the post of Russian Minister of defense
[ColonelCassad] Putin nominated Belousov to the post of Minister of Defense.
What a twist.
More from the Financial Times:
Putin replaces security chiefs in surprise reshuffle
Vladimir Putin has replaced two of his longest-serving security officials in a surprise reshuffle, suggesting the Russian president is dissatisfied with the handling of his two-year invasion of Ukraine.
Putin, who was sworn in for a fifth term in office earlier this week extending his quarter-century rule until at least 2030, has moved Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister since 2012, to become head of Russia’s security council on Sunday, according to the upper house of parliament.
Putin kicked Shoigu upstairs.
Andrei Belousov, a deputy prime minister and longtime economic adviser to Putin, is to replace Shoigu.
Nikolai Patrushev, a hawkish former spy and one of Putin’s closest aides who has led the security council since 2008, will take up an unspecified new position.
Putin’s appointments mark the biggest shake-up of his security officials in a decade and a half, even as his forces continue to advance against Ukraine’s outmanned, outgunned army.
The Kremlin painted Shoigu’s move as part of efforts to rein in Russia’s runaway defence spending. On Putin’s orders to supply armed forces fighting in Ukraine this has been earmarked for the current year at a record Rbs10.8tn ($118.5bn).
You can see Wikipedia's rundown on Belousov here
The Russian perspective from RIA Novosti
Cutting-edge ideas. What is known about Andrei Belousov
While the State Duma is approving the nominations of Cabinet members sent for approval, Vladimir Putin has begun consultations with the Federation Council. The president, together with the upper house, will have to determine the composition of the government’s power bloc and the head of the Foreign Ministry. One of the main intrigues in the Northern Military District is the future Minister of Defense. Unexpectedly for experts, Putin proposed Andrei Belousov for this post.
SUDDEN REPLACEMENT
For now, at the head of the Ministry of Defense - in an acting capacity, since the government resigned on inauguration day is Sergei Shoigu. He has been in this position since 2012, and before that he headed the Ministry of Emergency Situations. All these years, according to opinion polls, he was regularly among the officials with a high level of trust.
Three weeks ago, the military department found itself in the center of public attention, but not in connection with the Northern Military District. Deputy Minister Timur Ivanov was detained on suspicion of taking a bribe.
The Kremlin did not connect this with the head of the Ministry of Defense. However, on May 12, Putin proposed changing the minister. According to the list received from the president to the Federation Council, Shoigu is the only one from the power bloc who was decided not to be reappointed.
HEREDITARY ECONOMIST
While Shoigu was among the most recognizable ministers, Andrei Belousov, who worked in the economic bloc, did not appear on television screens so often.
But in big politics, the former first deputy prime minister in the government of Mikhail Mishustin is an experienced person.
A hereditary economist, his father helped develop the economic reforms of the 1960s. Ph.D. At the end of the USSR - employee of the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute, Institute of Economics and Forecasting of Scientific and Technological Progress. Since the 1990s - at the Institute of National Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In 2006, Belousov was appointed deputy minister of economic development and trade, and in 2008 - director of the department of economics and finance of the government apparatus.
In the Cabinet of Dmitry Medvedev, he is the manager from Russia at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. And since 2013, he has been Putin’s assistant on economic issues. In addition, in 2015-2018 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Rosneft.
CYBERNETICS METHODS
Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov emphasized: Andrei Belousov is not just a civil official, but an accomplished successful specialist. If the Federation Council approves him, he will become the second non-military Minister of Defense after Anatoly Serdyukov.
His knowledge and experience will be useful, since, according to Peskov, the department “must be absolutely open to innovation, the introduction of all advanced ideas, and the creation of conditions for economic competitiveness.”
“That is why the president chose the candidacy of Andrei Removich Belousov,” the press secretary emphasized.
It was no coincidence that we started talking about innovation. By specialty obtained at Moscow State University, Belousov is a cybernetic economist. And obviously, the stake now is not only on the economic merits of the applicant, but also on his ability to “refresh” the work of the department with non-standard methods.
From a comment in a video posted on the V Kontakte page of Military Informant
Ivan Ivanov
The transfer to the post of head of the Security Council is similar to another taxi driver’s signature hit:
1) they were transferred specifically to the Head, so that our suspicious armchair expert/kitchen-political lochtorat very predictably the whole crowd would not think that Khuzhenetovich had fallen into disgrace.
Khuzhenetovich is the patronymic of Sergey Shoigu.
Experts everywhere are already explaining to the scammer that this is a transfer_with_increase, because they say the Security Council includes all the security forces and the Defense Ministry, including, and therefore Khuzhenetovich now became the head not only of the Defense Ministry, but also of all the security forces.
2) Attentive people know the fate of a huge proportion of the highest stripes who commanded the return to their native harbor: a wave of “heart attacks, strokes, traffic accidents, accidents”, etc.
Perhaps this will be the case with this bearer of too many secrets, which even more concern the very, very highest persons of the state and the management processes at the very top.
There will be an “honorable retirement” as head of the Security Council, then a sudden illness and untimely departure for the new incarnation of this lover of pagoda-style villas.
More from the V Kontakte page of Irina Belokolos
A complete list of candidates proposed by Vladimir Putin for the posts of heads of law enforcement agencies.
– for the post of Minister of Internal Affairs – Vladimir Aleksandrovich Kolokoltsev; -- No change
– for the post of Minister for Civil Defense, Emergency Situations and Disaster Relief – Alexander Vyacheslavovich Kurenkov; -- No change
– for the post of Minister of Foreign Affairs – Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov; -- No change
- for the post of Minister of Defense - Andrey Removich Belousov;
– for the post of Minister of Justice – Konstantin Anatolyevich Chuychenko; -- No change
– for the position of Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service – Sergey Evgenievich Naryshkin; -- No change
– for the position of Director of the Federal Security Service – Alexander Vasilievich Bortnikov; -- No change
– for the post of Director of the Federal Service of National Guard Troops – Zolotov Viktor Vasilievich; -- No change
– for the position of Director of the Federal Security Service – Dmitry Viktorovich Kochnev; -- No change
- for the post of Head of the Main Directorate of Special Programs of the President - Alexander Leonidovich Linz. Former advisor to Boris Yelstin -- No change