His successor as Russian defense minister, Sergei Shoigu, spearheaded Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine, is the country’s longest-serving minister and one of President Vladimir Putin’s few close friends.
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However, his response to the attack on Ukraine was criticized by many within Russia, and his reputation was further hit by recent corruption charges against one of his lawmakers.
In 2023, the late Wagner mercenary commander Evgeny Prigozhin began an open conflict with the Russian military leadership over the conduct of the conflict.
Mr. Prigozhin, who later led a short-lived uprising and died in a mysterious plane crash, specifically called Mr. Shoigu a “filthbag” and an “old clown” in a fiery audio message that went viral in Russia. denounced.
read moreShoigu, Putin’s defense secretary, survived Wagner’s challenge, but for how long?
A series of recent advances have changed Russia’s fortunes on the battlefield in recent months, but Shoigu’s reputation has not been restored.
under pressure
Even before the outbreak of Prigozhin’s rebellion, Shoigu was under tremendous pressure due to early setbacks in Russia’s 2022 offensive.
A widely shared video from June 2023 shows Putin and Shoigu attending a medal ceremony at a military hospital, where the Russian president is seen turning his back on the defense minister in clear disdain. Ta.
In recent years, there have been many public displays of macho friendship, including photos showing the two men sunbathing shirtless together in remote Siberia, sharing a fishing vacation, and playing on the same ice hockey team. is no longer made public.
The 68-year-old, who has served as defense minister since 2012, has enjoyed a decades-long political career with unparalleled longevity in post-Soviet Russia.
His presence in Moscow’s power centers is older than Putin himself.
Shoigu, a native of the Tuva region in southern Siberia, is one of the few non-ethnic Russians to hold a top government post after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
political survivor
He began his rise through the ranks in 1994, when he was appointed Minister of Emergency Situations in the early years of President Boris Yeltsin.
Shoigu has become a familiar and solid figure among Russians and one of the country’s most popular politicians as he crisscrosses the country responding to disasters ranging from plane crashes to earthquakes.
He served as prime minister under more than a dozen prime ministers, a position he held until he was appointed governor of the Moscow region in 2012, the same year he was quickly replaced by President Putin after his predecessor, Anatoly Serdyukov, was ousted in a corruption scandal. Appointed Minister of Defense.
Although he was quickly appointed a general despite having no high-level military experience, he successfully led operations such as the 2015 intervention in Syria, and was instrumental in reinforcing the power of Moscow’s ally Bashar al-Assad. has been maintained.
On his 65th birthday, Putin gave his friend a special gift: the Order of Merit of the Fatherland, one of Russia’s highest decorations, in addition to a chest already full of ornaments.
However, after the offensive in Ukraine was not very successful and the Kremlin initially wanted Russian tanks to enter Kiev, doubts over his future persisted.
Since the offensive began in February 2022, Mr. Shoigu has been reduced to mumbling in his briefings to Putin, or simply shown on screen as the Kremlin chief oversees video conferences. .
(AFP)
