Suddenly, Putin decided to change his commander on the spot.
I saw that the first paragraph of the Reuters report said that Putin "unexpectedly appointed a civilian economist as the new defense minister" on Sunday (May 12), which is "the most important decision Putin has made to the military command" since the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
In other words, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is in full swing, and Putin suddenly changed his defense minister, 68-year-old Shoigu and 65-year-old Belousov.
You must know that Shoigu, who has served as Russian Defense Minister since 2012, has always been Putin's closest and most trusted subordinate.
The reason why I say this is that you can take a look at who was with Putin every year on his birthday in the past?
Shoigu!
Many times, Putin only took him with him to spend his birthday hunting, fishing, and camping in Siberia.
But Shoigu, who has Tuvan roots, is not without criticism. In 2022, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict broke out, and the Russian army retreated sharply at one point, and Shoigu was fiercely attacked by some Russian military bloggers.
In fact, Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, staged an aborted coup last year, and the target was not Putin, but Shoigu.
But Shoigu still has Putin's strong support, but it is a generation of tyrants Prigozhin, who was finally killed in a bizarre plane crash.
Now, Shoigu is also down.
For this old friend, Putin still gave him good treatment. He will be the secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation and will be in charge of the military-industrial complex. Technically, Shoigu is not in the cabinet sequence and seems to have been promoted.
Oh, and the former President of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, is the deputy chairman of this body.
Who is the new Minister of Defense?
Belousov, some friends may not be familiar with him, but he was previously the first deputy prime minister of Russia, a higher position than Shoigu.
To a certain extent, his appointment as Minister of Defense also fully demonstrates the special importance of the post of Russian Defense Minister at this special moment.
Why did Putin suddenly choose a non-military person?
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov put it bluntly: those who are open to innovation will emerge victorious on the battlefield.
According to his explanation, since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's military budget has increased from 3% to 6.7% of GDP, close to the situation in the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, when it accounted for 7.4%.
Significant changes at the economic level, Russian personnel must be adjusted.
As a result, Belousov, the first deputy prime minister in charge of the economy, has become the best choice for Russia's defense minister, which will also help Russia's national defense to be more innovative and more combative.
I saw that Reuters analyzed that this reshuffle caught the Russian elite off guard, indicating that Putin is doubling down on the war in Ukraine and devoting more of the Russian economy to the war after Western sanctions tried to bankrupt the Russian economy but failed.
But changing commanders on the spot is always taboo.
At the critical moment, Putin replaced his most trusted subordinates, what do you think?
Let's go three points.
First, Putin is cautiously making personnel adjustments.
This cabinet reshuffle, Shoigu left. Putin has shown a vigorous side, but at the same time he has been very cautious. Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian army, who was actually in charge of military command, remained in his post.
In addition, the top leaders of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service, the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and other key military intelligence departments have also remained unchanged.
Oh, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who we are all more familiar with, also continues to serve as foreign minister, and continues to have iron teeth and copper teeth.
Second, the role of the Russian defense minister is even more important.
Otherwise, the First Deputy Prime Minister will not be reappointed Minister of Defense.
This is both a special emphasis on Belousov's abilities.
After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the West imposed maximum sanctions on Russia, but Russia succeeded in stabilizing the economy, and Belousov and Prime Minister Mishustin contributed greatly.
So, Mishustin stayed, and Belousov became Minister of Defense.
This is even more an expectation for Belousov to integrate Russia's wartime economy.
I see that some analysts in the West believe that Russia's strategy to win now is how to make good use of the advantages of the Russian military-industrial complex and the overall economy to finally crush Ukraine.
Third, the Russia-Ukraine conflict has entered the next step.
When I say the next step, I don't just mean that the Russian army is adjusting its strategy and tactics and is opening up a "second battlefield" in the north, approaching Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine.
Moreover, we have seen that the two defense ministers of Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainian Defense Minister Reznikov and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, have left one after another, and in fact, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Zaluzhny, has also been replaced.
The high commands of both sides are arranging their troops and making major personnel adjustments. In the final analysis, it is to choose the most suitable people, put them in the most suitable positions, deal with the most difficult challenges, and win the war.
The war continues, people fall every day, and when will it end?