Before Putin's visit to the DPRK, four deputy defense ministers were dismissed, and General Popov was expelled from the army

Knowledge

2024-06-18 18:35Posted in Jiangsu Associate Professor of Military Theory

With the start of Putin's fifth presidential term, the Russian military leadership ushered in a major earthquake. A large number of high-ranking officials were dismissed, including Russia's ace generals. On June 18, the media even reported the news that Putin had dismissed four deputy defense ministers in one fell swoop. All parties are generally concerned about whether Putin's series of personnel changes will affect the morale of the Russian army and the entire Russia-Ukraine conflict.

On June 17, local time, on the eve of his official visit to North Korea, Putin signed a presidential decree to remove Pavel Popov and four other deputy defense ministers from their posts, and Pavel Popov was also asked to retire from active service. At the same time, Putin also appointed four new deputy defense ministers and raised the number of Russian deputy ministers from the original 10 to 12.

According to the data, among the four people who were deposed by Putin, Popov was a general, and he was directly dismissed from the military, which shows that he made a lot of mistakes; Shevtsova is in charge of the financial work of the Russian Ministry of Defense, and her position is comparable to that of Popov; There are two people left, one is the first deputy minister of defense of the Russian Federation, and the other is the deputy minister of defense and state secretary of the Ministry of Defense of Russia.

The outside world speculates that Putin's move has three intentions. First of all, the removal of the four former deputy defense ministers and the increase of the number of four defense ministers to 12 will help to achieve the separation of powers and prevent some officials from exercising too much power and forming a "power bloc" that is difficult to shake.

Second, Russia has recently been cracking down on corruption, and it is likely that the four former deputy defense ministers were also involved in corruption. Putin is determined to rectify the corruption at the top of the Russian army to improve the combat effectiveness of the army and create conditions for the long-term "special military operation";

Finally, Putin's move is likely to pave the way for Russia's new Defense Ministry, Andrei Belousov. Belousov's specialty is "making money"; he has served as an economic officer for many years, but he is not familiar with the affairs of the Ministry of Defense, and he lacks a right-hand man in the Ministry of Defense.

As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine becomes protracted, Russia must seriously consider the issue of military spending, and Belousov is undoubtedly pinned on high hopes. In order to make Belousov work better, a number of high-ranking officials and generals who are close to former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu have been dismissed by Putin.

Among them, the highest position is the former deputy minister of defense of Russia, Ivanov, who is called Shoigu's "henchman". Although Ivanov refused to admit that he had committed corruption and other crimes, the dust has settled on Ivanov's related crimes, and there is basically no possibility of overturning the case.

Andrei Belousov

After Ivanov, Pavel Popov, the highest-ranking member of the Russian Ministry of Defense, also fell. In general, the high-level system of the Russian Ministry of Defense is being restructured. It is worth mentioning that the name Popov has become Putin's "focus on the object".

In addition to Pavel Popov, who has the rank of general, Ivan Popov, the former commander of the Russian 58th Army, who has the rank of major general, was also arrested not long ago and officially entered the detention stage. It is noteworthy that despite the fact that Ivan Popov only had the rank of major general, his military talents were quite outstanding.

You must know that the Russian 58th Army is the trump card unit of the Russian Armed Forces, and the most famous former commander of the group army is the current Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and the commander-in-chief of the front line of the special military operation, General Gerasimov. In the Second Chechen War, Gerasimov led the Russian 58th Army and made great contributions, which further attracted Putin's attention.

In the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Major General Popov has been Gerasimov's right-hand man, and one of his most prominent achievements is leading the Russian 58th Army to crush the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive on the most anxious Zaporizhzhia front. Judging from the map, Zaporozhye is a "bee waist belt" connecting Donetsk and Kherson, so the Ukrainian army set Zaporozhye as a breakthrough in the counteroffensive operation.

Major General Popov held off the Ukrainian army here, which is enough to show his military talent. It can be said that the generals who can serve as the commanders of the Russian 58th Army are all experienced and outstanding strongmen. However, Major General Ivan Popov was transferred back from the front to stand trial on charges of "reselling 2,000 tons of steel bar, which should have been used in the construction of front-line fortifications."

According to the data released by the Russian side, the value of steel bars embezzled by Major General Popov exceeded 100 million rubles, or about 8 million yuan. This charge was too outrageous in anyone's opinion, and Major General Popov firmly pleaded not guilty, but in the end he had to accept his fate.

From here, we can see that Russian President Putin has made up his mind to "exchange blood" for the top level of the Russian army and the Russian Ministry of Defense. However, judging from the current situation, Putin's series of personnel adjustments have not affected the Russian-Ukrainian front, and the Russian army still has the advantage.

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