Shoigu to Remain in Military Service to 2030

Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu signed a contract to continue his military service as the Secretary of the Security Council till 2030, according to Russian state news.  

Shoigu, 69, despite having no military background, had previously served as the Russian Defense Minister from 2012 until he was replaced by economic advisor Andrey Beluosov in May 2024.  Shoigu may have been replaced due to corruption allegations and the Kremlin’s disappointment in the slow progress of the Russian Armed Forces in conquering additional territory in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.  

Shoigu has been a key confidant of Putin since the 1990s, serving several posts such as Minister of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief, and briefly as the Governor of the Moscow Region before being appointed Minister of Defense in 2012.

Shoigu’s tenure as Defense Minister was not without its critics, including the assassinated head of Wagner, Evgeny Prigozhin.  In a famous video, the former Wagner chief criticized Shoigu and Gerasimov for lack of support to Wagner forces during the Russian assault on Bakhmut: 

“Shoigu! Gerasimov! Where is the [explitive].ammunition?... They came here as volunteers and die for you to fatten yourselves in your mahogany offices.”

Imprisoned Russian ultranationalist military blogger, Igor “Stelkov” Girkin would regularly criticize Shoigu for mistakes made as Defense Minister.  Russian military bloggers often refer to Shoigu as the “Cardboard General” or “Cardboard Marshal” for his lack of military service.  

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Shoigu has recently grown increasingly bellicose in his language, and in a recent interview referenced last year’s updates to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, giving it the right to use nuclear weapons when facing aggression on the territory of the Russian Federation or Belarus when discussing the potential for European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine.

In June of 2024, Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov were issued arrest warrants by the International Criminal Court for war crimes committed in Ukraine.