The Russian head of state dismissed on Monday four deputy ministers of defence and filled one of the vacant positions with a relatives.
Putin restructures Defense Ministry
The reshuffle is likely to be the last stage of a restructuring that Putin initiated in May. At that time, he surprisingly sacked his long-time defense minister Sergei Shoigu relieved of his duties.
More than two years after the start of the war in Ukraine, Putin is signaling that he will no longer tolerate waste and corruption in the ministry and wants to align Russia’s war economy more effectively with the needs of the soldiers on the front lines.
Putin made the daughter of his deceased cousinAnna Tsivilewaas Deputy Minister of Defense. Her responsibilities include improving social welfare for military personnel, for example in finding housing. Her husband, Sergei Tsivilew, is Russia’s Energy Minister. Putin had previously appointed Tsivileva as head of a state fund to support participants in the Russian war effort in Ukraine.
Personnel changes at the top of the ministry
Leonid Gornin,previously First Deputy Minister of Finance, will become First Deputy Minister of Defense under the new Minister of Defense Andrei Belusov,Gornin’s task is to “increase the transparency of financial flows and ensure efficient use of budgetary resources,” the Defense Ministry said.
Deputy Ministers of Defense were also appointed Oleg Saweljew and Pawel Fradkow,the son of the former Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov,appointed. Fradkov will be responsible for managing real estate, land and construction projects related to the military.
The change in personnel at the top of the ministry began with the arrest of then Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov on April 23 on bribery charges. Since then, four other top officials in the ministry and the General Staff have been arrested on the same charges as part of the biggest corruption scandal to rock the Russian government in years.