Who is the new Russian Defense Minister?

2024-05-14 08:07:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Who is the new Russian Defense Minister?

Andrej Removich Belousov, the new Russian Defense Minister

At the start of his fifth term as president, Vladimir Putin is restructuring Russia even more firmly into a war economy. An economist without military experience should now contribute in this direction.

Putin appointed Andrej Belousov, until now deputy prime minister, to the post of defense minister. Approval by parliament is considered more certain. The current Minister of Defense, Sergej Shoigu, will be the chairman of the National Security Council.

Belousov did not even perform military service. However, with this election, Putin aims to have a better position in the grueling war against Ukraine.

"Today, the one who is open to innovation wins on the battlefield," Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov comments on the change. Even the "power block economy" should be better integrated "into the country's economy".

For this task, Belousov "is a reasonable candidate," Nina Khrushcheva, a Russian-American political scientist, told DW. Belousov has been profiled as a calm and professional technocrat.

"On the one hand he is not rejected by market economists, on the other hand he is for the supremacy of the state in the economy", she says. So who is the person who takes the leadership of the defense department in Russia now in the middle of the war?

Who is the new Russian Defense Minister?

Putin's confidant

Andrej Belousov, born in Moscow as the son of an economist, is 65 years old. He followed his father's model and also studied economic sciences. He then researched in the field of market forecasting at the Russian Academy of Sciences. He consulted the government and served in 2006 and 2008 as Deputy Minister of Economy.

Decisive for his career was the year 2008, when Putin changed the post of president to that of prime minister and appointed Belousov as head of the economy sector. In this way he had direct contact with Putin. Since that time, Belousov is considered one of the close confidants in the president's circle.

His direct dependence on Putin, as well as the fact that Belousov does not belong to any faction fighting for influence in the Kremlin, has made him immune to corruption. His predecessor, Shoigu, has often been accused of corruption. Finally, Shoigu's deputy was arrested, which many observers commented as a sign that he will soon be dismissed.

Technocrat, who has supported the annexation of Crimea

Belousov, with the positions he has held, has strongly influenced the shaping of Russian economic policy over the past years. He is considered a supporter of state investments in the economy.

In 2014, he was among the few economic experts around Putin who supported the annexation of Crimea, the Russian portal "The Bell" wrote a few years ago. Belousov sees Russia as "surrounded by enemies", it is further said. This worldview also speaks of his closeness to Putin. "In recent years, Belousov has been obsessed with the idea of ??Russia's economic sovereignty," wrote on the Telegram platform independent Russian journalist Farida Rustamova, who specializes in Russian elites.

Under the leadership of Belousov, the concept of technological development 2030 has been drawn up. By this time, according to Belousov's plan, Russia must learn to produce chips, high-precision machines, medical devices, aircraft and drones, Rustamova writes.

Who is the new Russian Defense Minister?

The armaments industry must provide impulses for economic growth

As deputy prime minister, Belousov focused heavily on the development of the domestic drone industry. He has often criticized the fact that important parts in the production chain are abroad. "Belousov is interested in innovative weapons systems, and it is clear what his priorities will be," Aleksandra Prokopenko from the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center in Berlin told DW.

On the other hand, the rest of the Russian economy should also benefit from the extraordinary spending on defense, it is foreseen in the Kremlin's plan. The security bloc's budget, according to spokesman Peskov, accounts for 6.7 percent of Russia's gross domestic product.

"The Kremlin's priority in the meantime is the war," says Prokopenko, who previously worked at the Russian Central Bank. "They believe in military Keynesianism, that is, in the fact that with the help of investments in the military-industrial complex, long-term economic growth can be strengthened." . The new man in the Russian Ministry of Defense should help the war to be profitable for Russia./ DW