Large-scale personnel purges will continue at the Russian Ministry of Defense following the change in leadership
Large-scale personnel reshuffles are underway at the Russian Ministry of Defense, which have effectively led to the replacement of a significant portion of the ministry’s leadership. These changes began as early as 2024 and intensified following the appointment of the new defense minister.
This is reported by Russian media.
During this period, most of the deputies of former Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu lost their positions or became subjects of criminal investigations. Of the 11 deputies who served in 2023, only four have retained their positions.
Among them are Valery Gerasimov, Viktor Goryomkin, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, and Alexey Kryvoruchko. The others have either been dismissed or are under investigation.
In particular, former deputies Timur Ivanov and Pavel Popov received lengthy prison sentences in corruption cases. Another former official, Ruslan Tsalikov, is also under investigation. Former deputy Dmitry Bulgakov was dismissed earlier and became a subject of investigations into violations in military supply contracts.
Following the appointment of new leadership, heads were replaced in nearly a third of the Ministry of Defense’s departments and directorates—this involves more than 20 structural units, particularly in the areas of finance, construction, and logistics.
At the same time, some positions are still held by officials linked to the previous leadership, though their influence is gradually diminishing amid ongoing changes within the ministry.
As a reminder, the Kremlin is dissatisfied with the work of two collaborators from Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region—Galina Danilchenko and Yevgeny Balitsky—and is preparing a purge.
