Sergei Shoigu was appointed as the Defense Minister for the Russian Federation in November of 2012 has been one of the longest serving government officials in the current administration. He is considered a close friend and ally of President Putin. Shoigu was born in 1955 in a village in Sibera, which is now the Republic of Tyva and was educated as a construction engineer. From 1994–2012 Shoigu served as the Minister of the Russian Federation for Civil Defence and Emergencies, and in 1993, he assisted Yeltsin during his standoff with the Russian Parliament. Under Shoigu, Russia invaded Ukraine, annexed its territory of Crimea against international law, and sent Russian weapons and military personnel into Eastern Ukraine where Russian-backed forces continue to fight against the government of Ukraine.

Shoigu is also responsible for the ongoing modernization of Russia’s military, which became degraded after the fall of the USSR in 1991. In 2017, Shoigu announced the creation of a new military branch, the information warfare troops. Some analysts have suggested that Shoigu would be Putin’s successor. However, other Russia analysts state that this would not be the case, despite his popularity. Shoigu has typically shied away from political discourse and the press. In 2015, Alexei Navalny, an opposition leader to the Putin regime, published details of a secret $18 million mansion.

https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/shoigu-at-60-the-man-who-would-be-russias-king-46771

https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-dm-shoigu-accused-owning-mansion/27330203.html

https://apnews.com/8b7532462dd0495d9f756c9ae7d2ff3c/russian-military-continues-massive-upgrade

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