Putin reappoints same prime minister following Russia’s sham election
IndependentDEC 2023
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.
There's a 50% chance that Vladimir Putin will cease to hold the office of president of Russia by February 2029, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
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