Since the beginning of this year, the Russian Ministry of Defense has carried out a large-scale personnel adjustment, and this adjustment has not yet ended.
Recently, Russian sources revealed that, Admiral Aleksandr Fomin will be removed from the post of Russian Deputy Defense Minister. At this stage, the relevant order has been drawn up. If the dismissal decision is confirmed, he will become the sixth deputy minister of defense in shoigu's team to be dismissed.Fujimori’s position could be taken over by First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Vasili.
This Fuming has rich work experience. In the 1990s, he worked in The Russian Federation's Military Technical Cooperation Bureau and later transferred to the Russian Defense Products Export Company. In 2004, he was appointed deputy director of the Federal Agency for Military Technical Cooperation, and later promoted to serve as director for five years before finally being transferred to deputy secretary of defense.
At the Ministry of Defense, he was the head of the General Office for International Military Cooperation and the National Center for Nuclear Risk Reduction, and was also deeply involved in the conflict in Ukraine. During the talks in Istanbul in March 2022, it was by him that he announced that Russia would significantly reduce military activities in the Kiev and Chernigov region. In this year's and a new round of negotiations of the Ukrainian delegation, Formin was also one of the key members.
by Fujimori
Fuming's dismissal is actually not an isolated incident, but can be classified as a continuation of Putin's major reshuffle of Shoigu's team.
You know, during the 12 years when Shoigu served as defense minister from 2012 to 2024, his cronies occupied almost every key position in the Ministry of National Defense. And those officials who were dismissed before also confirmed that, These people have long formed a huge network of interests specializing in private defense projects.Take former Deputy Defense Minister Ivanov for example. When he was in office, he was suspected of receiving bribes of 1.185 billion rubles and also helping construction companies obtain many defense orders, causing losses to the country.
Since Shoigu was removed from his post as defense minister in May last year, Putin has quickly begun cleaning up his old office.In the same month, three people, including Ivanov, were arrested for corruption issues; in June, four other deputy defense ministers were removed, and their positions were replaced by new officials, including officials in the Treasury.
This kind of "continuous" personnel adjustment has actually clearly demonstrated Putin's attitude: He wanted to break the monopoly of power formed in the Shaikh era and never let the military emerge as an interest group independent of the president.In addition, this series of operations also conveyed Russia’s attitude of “zero tolerance” to military corruption, and this attitude was largely seen by Shoigu.
Although the specific reasons for Fu Ming's dismissal are still unclear, the five deputy ministers who were previously dismissed are basically related to corruption. This shows that Putin is determined to eradicate those deep-rooted corruption networks in the Ministry of Defense. These corruption problems have had a very bad impact in the Russia-Ukraine conflict: the equipment of front-line soldiers is insufficient and logistics is in chaos, which directly hinders combat effectiveness. These are also key issues that Putin must solve.
(Putin and Shoigu)
For Shoigu personally: Putin's warning has long been hidden in every adjustment.
Shoigu now holds the title of "secretary of the Federal Security Council" and has not been directly held accountable, but Putin, through the continued liquidation of his old department, has given the warning signals clearly and clearly, each step is drawing a red line.
First of all, his power base has been completely drained.Shoigu has been in the Ministry of National Defense for 12 years, and the power network built by his cronies is his core support. But now six deputy ministers have been dismissed one after another, and all key positions have been replaced by new people, which is tantamount to uprooting his contacts and influence in the military. In the current Ministry of National Defense, there are not many people who listen to him. It is basically impossible for him to influence military decision-making through the old Ministry. This is what Putin is telling Shoigu: I won't stay in your sphere of influence anymore.
Secondly, unemployment liability was also broken indirectly.Although Putin didn't directly say that shoigu himself was corrupt, so many of his core officials were dismissed due to corruption, and some even enriched themselves in defense orders and logistics support. As a former defense minister, shoigu could not be completely unaware of it. Putin didn't check him directly, but put these people's problems on the table to deal with. In fact, he implied that when you were a minister, you didn't manage your men well and didn't keep the bottom line. This is your dereliction of duty. This way of calculating the general ledger without naming the roll is actually more shocking than direct criticism, making shoigu know that his "fault" has been recorded in the account.
Moreover, Shoigu's political positioning is clearly framed at the "edge".From the Minister of Defense to the Secretary of the Federal Security Council, the surface is flat, and the practice is to decrease from the "power positions" to the "advisory positions". The Minister of Defense controls the mobilization of the army, budget, equipment, is the core power department, and the Federal Security Council is more to coordinate policies, provide advice, no direct command power. More importantly, Putin did not give Shoigu any opportunity to access the core military affairs, such as the negotiations of the Russian conflict, military reform decisions, and did not let him participate. This is like telling Shoigu: You are no longer in the core decision circle, recognize your position, beyond the boundaries.
(Ministry of National Defense officials caught for corruption)
Finally, the bottom line of loyalty has also been repeatedly stressed. Putin has always had a core requirement for the Russian top: absolute loyalty, can not have their own small circle. The problem before Shoigu was essentially the formation of the "only listening to him" interest group, which touched the bottom line of Putin. Now liquidate his old department, and is also knocking the alarm clock to all the top: whoever wants to do the mountain head, no matter how much he earned before, how deep the qualification, will eventually be fixed.
As a "lesson from the past", Shoygu must always remember: His political life is entirely determined by Putin. Only by keeping the line of loyalty can he keep his current position, otherwise he may face more serious consequences.
In the final analysis, Putin did not use a "one-size-fits-all" tough approach to Shoigu. Instead, he sent warnings by gradually liquidating old troops, weakening power, and clarifying borders. This not only avoided too much shock in the military, but also left Shoigu with dignity, but at the same time, he also made the rules clear: in Russia, the general The control of the army cannot be challenged, and anyone who tries to get out of control will be calibrated in time.