Why Putin appointed Andrei Belousov, an economist, as Russia’s new defence minister

On 7 May, Vladimir Putin was sworn in as president of Russia for a fifth time amid the ongoing war against Ukraine. A week later, the Russian strongman has replaced his Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, in a wide-ranging reshuffle of his most senior leaders.

Shoigu, 68, who has been defence minister since 2012, has been moved to become head of Russia’s security council. And Andrei Belousov, a deputy prime minister and long-time economic adviser to Putin, is set to replace Shoigu.

Who is Andrei Belousov? Why is this reshuffle important? We explore all this and more.

No military experience

Russian president Putin on Sunday proposed to replace Shoigu with Andrei Belousov, citing the country’s rising military spending and the need for “innovation.” Interestingly, the 65-year-old takes up the role despite no previous military experience or having worked in national security.

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Belousov is, in fact, an economist and his most prominent role was acting-prime minister for three weeks when the PM Mikhail Mishustin had COVID-19 in 2020. Mishustin was reappointed the country’s prime minister last Friday.

But who is Belousov? An economist, he graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the Moscow State University in 1981 with distinction. In 2000, Belousov was appointed as a non-staff adviser to the prime minister and joined the economy ministry as deputy minister in 2006. While Putin was prime minister in 2008-2012, he served as director of the department for economics and finance in the government apparatus.

In 2012, Belousov was appointed as economics minister and in the following year, he also made adviser to the Russian president.

Notably, it is Belousov, according to Russian media outlet RBC, who convinced Putin in 2017 that a digital economy and blockchain were important for the country’s future. “I can say that what a country with sovereignty should definitely have is the possession of its own meanings. Who are we, where are we from, where are we going? … We have no other option for our country but to acquire or reproduce this identity,” Belousov told RBC in an interview in 2023.

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RBC has reported that Belousov did not serve in the armed forces. However, he is believed to be close to Putin.

Significance of appointing Belousov

But why did Putin then appoint a man with little to no knowledge about defence matters? According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, there’s a sound reasoning behind it. In a press conference, Peskov said that he was selected by Putin owing to a need for “innovation”.

“Today on the battlefield, the winner is the one who is more open to innovation,” Peskov said. “Therefore, it is natural that at the current stage, the president decided that the Russian ministry of defense should be headed by a civilian.”

“This is not just a civilian, but a person who very successfully headed the ministry of economic development of Russia, for a long time he was aide to the president on economic issues, and was also the first deputy chairman of the government in the previous cabinet of ministers,” Peskov said.

Experts note that the appointment of Belousov as defence minister speaks volumes. According to some, it may mean Putin aims to take a closer personal role in war tactics. In fact, UK’s Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has predicted the new defence minister will just be another one of Putin’s “puppets”.

Belousov as new defence minister also points to how Putin wants to take the war forward and if it is economically feasible. As Sky News reports, Russia’s entire economy is geared towards the military right now. Putin wants to ensure it’s operating as efficiently as possible, so his war can continue, and for that he needs someone with knowledge of economics.

Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment who studies the Russian military, told the Financial Times the shake-up showed it was “clear that Russian economic elites performed far better than military elites in this war.”

However, some note that Belousov’s appointment is a clear indicator that Putin was not happy with his long-time ally and Russia’s longest serving minister — Shoigu. Shoigu has faced criticism within Russia amid a number of failures in the long and unpopular war against Ukraine. He faced scathing attacks from mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin , whose Wagner Group had marched on Moscow nearly a year ago to demand the ouster of Shoigu. The rebellion was quickly ended, but signaled growing unrest among Russia’s military and para-military regarding the war.

Putin’s big shakeup

Vladimir Putin’s decision to appoint Belousov as the new defence minister is part of his big shakeup of the Cabinet. In fact, many see it as the most significant reshuffle Putin has undertaken since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022.

Shoigu has now been appointed as the head of Russia’s security council, a position held until now by Nikolai Patrushev, a hawkish former spy and one of Putin’s closest aides. It is unclear what Patrushev’s future looks like, but Peskov told Russian state media late on Sunday that his new role will be announced in the “next few days”.

Putin has also proposed appointing Boris Kovalchuk to become chairman of the Accounts Chamber. His oligarch father, Yury, 72, is seen as Putin’s “wallet”.

However, some of Putin’s ministers remain untouched in the reshuffle. Sergei Lavrov will remain as foreign minister. Moreover, Valery Gerasimov , the chief of Russia’s general staff, will remain in his position as well.

With inputs from agencies