All Shook Up or Continuity at Russia's Ministry of Defense?

Sergei Shoigu confidantely strides into the meeting room followed by General Gerasimov.

A whole bunch of hoo-haw erupted in all media when Putin’s promotions were announced with opinions all over the spectrum. Meanwhile where it matters, all is calm and businesslike, which can be seen in the photos and videos of these two meetings.

New MoD Belousov’s body language speaks volumes; he’s ready for action.

Note the seating arrangements by rank and how no notes have been taken yet.

The main business of the meeting came after Putin’s opening ten-minute remarks, which we can assume dealt more with the SMO than administrative issues; more like a recap and where do we go from here discussion. Here’re Putin’s remarks:

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, dear comrades!

First of all, I would like to congratulate you on the recent holiday of May 9, the Victory Day of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War.

I wanted to do it in person. I know that on May 9, all of you were supposed to be at your workplaces and met this holiday in a combat situation. In this regard, I would like to thank you and all your subordinates for this combat work.

The work is proceeding according to the plan approved and prepared by the group's command and General Staff, and all the tasks assigned are being fulfilled. I would like to repeat that not only last year's results reflected all the enemy's counterattacks, but since this year our troops have been constantly improving their position in all directions, every day. I will come back to this again: they are fulfilling all the tasks set by the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. This is what the whole country expects from us, from you.

We see what the neo-Nazi regime is doing in the border zone. This is what they have been doing for all the years since 2014, when we tried to resolve this conflict by peaceful means. Unfortunately, nothing happened, and we had to start protecting our people in these territories with the help of the Armed Forces. But the more effectively you work on the contact line, the more chances we have to resolve this issue peacefully. This is what we have always been striving for, and I have always spoken about it.

Dear comrades, you know that in accordance with the Constitution, after the election of the President of the country, there is a change in the Government of the Russian Federation. We have six new ministers – energy, sports, transport, industry, agriculture and defense.

I would like to thank Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu for what he has done over the past years to build the Armed Forces and give them a new look. I think that no one doubts that this image is being consistently created, including in relation to the requirements of today, to the requirements of modern methods of conducting armed struggle. Yes, we all understand that much still needs to be done, many things were not clear before the outbreak of hostilities, neither to us, nor to all those who somehow deal with the construction of their armed forces in the world, this is obvious. But how quickly we respond to the demands of the time gives us confidence that we will certainly solve all such problems.

Sergey Kuzhugetovich is moving to another job, you know that. He will be Secretary of the Security Council, a constitutional body formed by the President. Its task is to assist the head of State in managing the entire power component of the state.

Andrey Removich Belousov has been appointed as the new Minister of Defense. This is due not least to the fact that military spending is growing. Let me remind you that in the mid-1980s, the Soviet Union's total defense and security spending was approximately 13 percent. In 2024, this year, our total defense and security spending will amount to approximately 8.7 percent. Maybe it will be a little more. Approximately-8.7 percent. This is certainly not 13 percent, as was the case in the Soviet Union, but it is still a solid amount, it is a large resource, and we must use it very carefully and efficiently.

Andrey Ramovich once headed the Ministry of Economic Development, then worked in the Presidential Administration as an assistant to the President, and in recent years was the First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation heading the economic block. And of course, he is well aware of what needs to be done in order to integrate the economy of the entire power bloc and the Ministry of Defense as a key link in this bloc into the overall economy of the country. This is an extremely important thing. I mean that this is connected with the innovative development of industry, and taking into account the capabilities of the economy and the budget.

While we are increasing our defense and security spending, we still believe that all social obligations must be fulfilled to citizens, our national development goals must be continued and achieved in all areas, including social ones. I mean education, healthcare, support for veterans, providing pension services, and so on. All of this must certainly be done in the face of growing defense spending. At the same time, we see and understand that growing defense and security spending is somehow organically linked to civilian industries, which in turn gives an impetus to the development of industry as a whole, preserves and increases jobs in the country – our unemployment is at a historically low level today. But this relationship between the so-called guns and oil should be organically integrated into the overall development strategy of the Russian state.

I hope that Andrey Ramovich will cope with this task in the best possible way. Among other things, Andrey Ramovich has recently been engaged in some dual-use activities on my behalf, in particular, the development of unmanned aerial vehicles and other unmanned vehicles. Sergey Kuzhugetovich also did the same for the Ministry of Defense.

The Minister of Defense who left this post, in addition to performing the duties of Secretary of the Security Council, will also lead the Military-Industrial Complex Commission, which functions under the President, and will organize the work of the Federal Service for Cooperation with Foreign Countries. I think that Sergey Kuzhugetovich, like no one else, understands the need to ensure our obligations to our partners in the supply of weapons and military equipment to the foreign market, taking into account that first of all we must meet the needs of our Armed Forces. This combination is very subtle and important. Sergey Kuzhugetovich, together with the Ministry of Defense, with the leadership of the Ministry of Defense, together with the Chief of the General Staff, will also be engaged in this work.

As for the General Staff itself and the entire structure that provides combat work, there are no changes and there are no plans. I want it to be clear to everyone. This unit of combat work has developed, it functions rhythmically, operates successfully, and no changes are expected here. This is what I would like to say at the beginning.

And as agreed, I asked Sergey Kuzhugetovich and Valery Vasilyevich [Gerasimov] to organize our meeting in such a way that we can talk about the current situation on the line of contact. We do this every day with the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and with the Chief of the General Staff, but I wanted to listen to you. I generally understand what is happening and how, but it is one thing to listen to the reports of the NGS and the Minister, and another thing to talk to you directly. We don't meet very often, but in general we meet regularly, and I think it's time to talk about this in more detail in each area of combat work. [My Emphasis]

Thank you.

The emphasized parts illuminate what I might say in conclusion. We now have a better understanding of why the changes were made. After this meeting, the meeting on the development of the defence industry took place as five new people replaced the military men.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a good group photo showing all the attendees, although Putin will make introductions of a sort in his remarks, which are again short prior to the confidential discussion and now begin:

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon!

Dear colleagues, I have asked you to meet to discuss a number of key issues of today.

As you know, the formation of the Government of the Russian Federation has just been completed. Together, we need to meet the needs of the Russian Armed Forces for effective work in the combat contact zone as part of a special military operation.

At the same time, without any exaggeration, we need to do even more – a lot has been done – we need to do even more for the development of defense industries, but at the same time, these enterprises continue to work on diversification. Without any exaggeration, we must be ready at any time to see that these enterprises, which have already done a lot and achieved a lot in accordance with our plans, must take additional steps in this direction, and they must be ready to switch even more to the production of civilian products.

We are also well aware of the plans for achieving the national development goals. These plans are not being reduced even in connection with a special military operation. We have many tasks here, including in the social sphere.

And now I will say a very important thing: we must do all this with unconditional respect for the principles of a healthy economy and macroeconomic principles. This is an extremely important thing. In no case should we allow any distortions in the economy and industry.

Well-known personnel changes have also been made to address these issues. Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, like no one else, knows the needs of the Armed Forces. From the position of Secretary of the Security Council, he will also work within the framework of the Military-Industrial Complex Commission, will work with our foreign partners to fulfill our contractual obligations to supply weapons to our partners in foreign countries, and in general, I hope, will contribute to the coordination of the work of law enforcement agencies.

It is for this purpose that Denis Valentinovich Manturov, who was engaged in industry, was appointed to the post of First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. This is done in order to show the importance of the direction that he has been engaged in over the past years and is currently engaged in.

We must concentrate our financial and administrative resources to achieve the goals that I have already mentioned. At the same time, this should be done wisely and carefully. Those funds, and they are considerable, which are allocated for the development of the military organization of the state, should be used in the most effective way.

I have just said that Denis Valentinovich has been appointed First Deputy. It was the current Defense Minister, namely Andrei Belousov, who left this position. You know, this is not a formal matter, but I hope that from the position of the Minister of Defense, he will keep in mind what he has been doing all his life-the economy. It is very important.

And it is important for me, for all of us, that you continue the work that was started by Sergey Kuzhugetovich. What do I mean by that? We need to open up the Ministry of Defense as much as possible. Keeping in mind the specifics of the Ministry of Defense, nevertheless, open the Ministry of Defense to the maximum, in order to absorb all the best, all the most modern, everything that can and should be used for successful work on the battlefield by our guys, our fighters, our heroes of the special military operation.

We know that the more effective the means of destruction, the more accurate they are, the more powerful they are, the less losses we have, and this is a key issue in the conduct of armed struggle. For us, anyway. I very much hope that all this will be used.

We have already said this many times: whoever learns the latest means of armed struggle faster wins. We need to be one step ahead. We have everything for this, and a lot has been done in recent years. We need to double and triple our efforts in this area.

The new Minister of Industrial Development and Industry is also no stranger to this field. You worked, Anton Andreevich [Alikhanov], previously worked in the Ministry of Industry. Now, keeping in mind your achievements in the territory, you understand what is being done in the territories and how, and what is needed to make the work even more successful. I hope that you will apply all your skills and knowledge here in order to act successfully.

The same applies to Dyumin Alexey Gennadyevich. He was appointed Assistant to the President. One of the most important areas that he will be working on will be providing assistance to the Government and our companies, including Rostec, in solving the tasks that they face in terms of providing the necessary means of armed struggle for our Armed Forces. [Rostec CEO Sergei Chemezov was also present]

About Dmitry Anatolyevich [Medvedev], I will not speak about him, he is a former Prime Minister and President, so one way or another, as you know, he is engaged in all the work that has just been mentioned above, both on a separate assignment and by virtue of his official position.

I very much hope that everything that has been done, all these personnel transfers, should not be formal. I repeat once again, we must make maximum use of all our administrative resources to ensure the main task – the successful operation of our combat units on the line of contact within the framework of a special military operation. The guys are fighting, fighting well, successfully, improving their situation all along the front line, and this is happening every day. We must do everything in our power to ensure that they have everything they need to continue to meet their challenges.

Let's talk about all this now. That's why I asked you to get together.

As you read, there’s much more to come from Russia’s military, its MIC and industry as a whole. I was very surprised to see Alikhanov awarded Minister of Industry at 38. I imagine he’ll retain much of the staff Manturov assembled as it’s already proven itself capable, which is much the same for all ministerial departments. Putin said they worked well as a team prior to the election, so they should be capable of continuing their close working relations. The only real civilian was Rostec CEO Chemezov, although his position is equal to that of a Deputy PM. And again, the meaty, informative for us part of the meeting was confidential. Putin now gets ready for his Summit with Xi and keynote speech at Harbin. There’re other items of importance to publish at the Gym stemming from MFA events that will appear later today.

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