MOSCOW: As Russian President Vladimir Putin begins his fifth term in the office, he has replaced Sergei Shoigu as the defence minister.
Putin signed a decree on Sunday appointing Shoigu as secretary of Russia’s Security Council. The appointment was announced shortly after Putin proposed Andrei Belousov to become the country’s defence minister in place of Shoigu.
Once tipped as governor of Siberia, Shoigu has been replaced by Putin’s close advisor on economic affairs Andrey Belousov. Like Shoigu, Belousov also has a non-military background.
“It is important to integrate the economy of the military sector into the country’s economy to reflect the present-day dynamics,” explained Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov about the Cabinet ‘reshuffle’ in which most other ministers retained their posts.