Experts Dudchak and Neizhmakov on the possible appointment of Belousov: a logical decision
The presentation by President Vladimir Putin of Andrei Belousov's candidacy for the post of defense minister was commented on by political scientist, economist Alexander Dudchak and Director of analytical projects at APEC Mikhail Neizhmakov on Sputnik radio.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed appointing former first deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Andrei Belousov as Minister of Defense.
On Sputnik radio, political scientist, economist, expert at the Institute of CIS Countries Alexander Dudchak expressed the opinion that the appointment of a new head of the Ministry of Defense meets the needs of society.
"Both civilians and military have accumulated a lot of questions to the Ministry of Defense in connection with recent events, some of them are already being answered by (former Deputy Defense Minister) Timur Ivanov. Now the Ministry of Defense needs a good manager. There is nothing terrible in the fact that Belousov is not a military man, there is hope that such an experienced person will set up the work of this department, as is necessary during the conduct of hostilities and confrontation with more than 50 countries of the world. I think that the course of its development may change. At least such decisions inspire the military. So we are waiting with calm hope," Alexander Dudchak said.
Mikhail Neizhmakov, Director of Analytical Projects at the Agency for Political and Economic Communications (APEC), in turn, expressed the opinion that the proposal to appoint Belousov as head of the Ministry of Defense, although it was an unexpected personnel move for many, however, his candidacy cannot be called accidental.
"The news, of course, is unexpected. There were various forecasts that, in principle, there could be a replacement for the head of the Ministry of Defense, but few people named this particular candidate. Apart from the narrow circle of people involved in this process, for most experts it was a very unexpected personnel move. But it is worth noting that Andrei Belousov, although a civilian, nevertheless, it cannot be said that he is a stranger to the field of dual-use production and, importantly, to the defense sector. It may be recalled that as the first deputy prime Minister of the government, he oversaw such issues as the development of unmanned aircraft systems and the development of the aviation industry. These are very important topics, including for the country's defense potential," Mikhail Neizhmakov said on Sputnik radio.
Now it is very important to integrate the economy of the power unit into the country's economy, so the appointment of Belousov to the post of head of the Ministry of Defense is logical, the expert continued.
"Judging by the theses
expressed by the press secretary of the president Dmitry Peskov, it is the economic component of defense issues that is especially important now, from the point of view of the strategy that Vladimir Putin focuses on, which the country's leadership focuses on. Therefore, most likely, this is exactly the logic in this appointment: on the one hand, it is a desire to strengthen the economic component of the defense sector, and on the other hand, perhaps this is some kind of audit of the Ministry of Defense, which is periodically required. Some experts suggested that Andrei Belousov could move to the post of head of the Accounting Chamber, and although there is a different direction here (in the Ministry of Defense – ed.), nevertheless, the functions in terms of defense spending, defense projects may coincide," Neizhmakov believes.
