Loyalist economist who ‘thinks years ahead’ inherits Kremlin’s biggest challenge as it prepares for the long haul in Ukraine
n 2014, Russia’s bloc of economic strategists was panicked by Vladimir Putin’s decision to annex Crimea and foment a war in east Ukraine, a move that led to western condemnation and sanctions against Russia that were seen as potentially ruinous.
Sergei Shoigu, the longtime defence minister and Putin’s occasional hunting and fishing buddy, has been. While the Kremlin has sought to avoid the image of a purge at the defence ministry, the shake-up comes shortly after a top Shoigu deputy was arrested on corruption charges, and Shoigu’s own reputation as defence minister has been tarnished by the Russian army’s poor performance in Ukraine. Ruslan Tsalikov, another Shoigu deputy, tendered his resignation on Monday.
Vladimir Putin and the former defence minister Sergei Shoigu , who has been removed from the job.Contemporaries describe Belousov as a highly religious technocrat who keeps Orthodox icons and religious books at his modest offices, where he had served as a deputy prime minister since 2020 . He is said to be trusted by Putin, whom he has worked for in government since 2008, and served as a Kremlin aide from 2013 to 2020.
In government, he is seen as a highly competent official, a “number cruncher” who stood out among officials for his attentive and hands-on approach to his work as well as for “keeping a low profile”.
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