Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to replace his defense ministers.
Among other things, Anna Tsivileva, a close relative of the president, was installed today.
She is the president of a Russian mining company, married to the energy minister, and her relationship with Putin goes back a long way.
Putin continues to reshuffle the twelve deputy Russian defense ministers. Today it was announced that his relative, Anna Tsivileva, is being appointed. So does the son of the former prime minister, Mikhail Fradkov, a close ally of Putin.
Relative to Putin and married to a minister
Anna Tsivileva is the daughter of Putin’s cousin and is married to former governor and current energy minister Sergey Tsivilev. Anna Tsivileva herself has had a career in the business world and as a psychologist. She is also president of the large Russian coal mining company JSC Kolmar, reports Newsweek. Tsivileva will now be responsible for social support and housing support within the Russian military.
In connection with Russia’s full-scale invasion, the British government, among other things, directed sanctions at the mining company, but also directly at Anna Tsivileva and her husband. Then, among other things, their relationship with Putin was pointed out as one of the reasons for the sanctions.
The news of Tsivileva taking up the post came in a decree, but her relationship to the president was never mentioned. Her maiden name is stated to be Putina and in a more than 20-year-old biography of Putin the president is seen together with his family and the new Deputy Secretary of Defense. The photo is said to have been taken in the Putin family’s summer cottage near Saint Petersburg.
Appoints people with close ties to the president
According to Reuters, the move by Putin, who is replacing four deputy defense ministers, may indicate that he wants to bring more people loyal to him into the Russian Security Council.
During the year, there have been several changes in the military leadership. In April, it was announced that one of the twelve deputy defense ministers, Timur Ivanov, had been arrested on suspicion of bribery. The incident was described as a power struggle within the Russian elite.
– It is a fight against a person and a ministry that has become too powerful and an attempt to balance the situation, a source told Reuters in connection with the arrest.
Just under a month later, the news came that Defense Minister Sergej Shoigu had been replaced, after twelve hours in the post. He is replaced by Andrei Belousov, an economist with absolutely no military experience, but with strong ties to President Putin.