The Facts
Coming after Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin was sworn in for a fresh six-year term last week, his longtime ally Sergei Shoigu was replaced as defense minister on Sunday. Andrei Belousov, an economist who served as Russian deputy prime minister, will now take on the role.
According to Russian law, following the inauguration of the president, all cabinet leaders must resign, giving the newly sworn in Russian leader — be it Putin or not — to make changes in the country's leadership.
The Spin
Shoigu's role as defense minister was widely seen as untenable after one of his key allies was imprisoned on corruption charges and Shoigu was seen as not having done enough to root out of the problem. This move allows Putin to get rid of him, while allowing Shoigu to save face so he doesn't later become a problem.
With Russia moving to a war economy, with a large percent of GDP going towards military expenditure, it was important to have an experienced economist heading the defense ministry so that it's spending was streamlined, but was also innovative so that progress continued to move forward.
