Russian President Vladimir Putin did not change the composition of the power block of the Russian government. The head of the Ministry of Defense Sergey Shoigu, the head of the Ministry of Emergencies, Yevgeny Zinichev, and the Minister of the Interior Vladimir Kolokoltsev kept their portfolios. In total, 12 ministers passed from the previous government to the cabinet of Mikhail Mishustin.

"It was expected."

Shoigu and Kolokoltsev have been holding their posts since 2012, Zinichev has been the head of the Ministry of Emergencies since 2018. Experts interviewed by RT called the expected decision to leave the ministers of the power block of the government in their places, since they achieved significant results at their posts.

Analysts say that Zinichev was able to ensure the growth of salaries of employees of his department and organize the supply of new rescue equipment. When Kolokoltsev recorded the total number of crimes, and also there is an improvement in the image of the police in society, experts emphasize. In addition, they called the large-scale rearmament of the Russian Armed Forces the key result of Shoigu.

Director of the International Institute of Newest States, political scientist Alexei Martynov, in an interview with RT, expressed the opinion that the current leaders of the power block have earned a certain confidence of the president, and therefore have retained their posts.

“This was expected, and it was clear that the power block, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were busy with intensive work, and, of course, no one was going to change anything even in some daring forecasts,” Martynov said.

In a commentary RT, the head of the Department of Political Science and Sociology G.V. Plekhanova, retired colonel Andrei Koshkin, said that Shoigu, Zinichev and Kolokoltsev are representatives of the military-political elite, from whose work Vladimir Putin usually gets the expected result.

“There is no need to throw such shots. In addition, these ministers are quite popular in society, especially Shoigu. Certain complaints were to Kolokoltsev. Some said a chair swayed beneath him. However, we see that these rumors were unreliable. He kept the ministerial portfolio, ”added Koshkin.

The president of the Center for Strategic Communications Dmitry Abzalov linked the preservation of the posts of Shoigu, Zinichev and Kolokoltsev with the absence of Putin’s serious claims to the power block, which as a whole copes with the tasks set.

  • Russian Minister of the Interior Vladimir Kolokoltsev
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Abzalov also drew attention to the "precarious positions" that Kolokoltsev had. A serious test for the minister, the expert believes, was the reform, during which integration of the units of the Federal Migration Service (FMS) and the Federal Drug Control Service (FSKN) into the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs took place.

“However, as I understand it, the president showed confidence to Kolokoltsev. If we talk about Zinichev, he has been working recently, solving the problems that have accumulated in the department ... Some changes have begun with him, but it takes time to assess their effectiveness, ”said Abzalov.

“Qualitative and systemic changes”

In a conversation with RT, the director general of the Center for Political Information, Alexei Mukhin, called Shoigu the most successful representative of the power block of the Russian government. He recalled that during his work the share of modern weapons in the army reached 68%, next year this figure will be 70%.

At a meeting of the enlarged board of the Ministry of Defense on December 24 last year, Vladimir Putin announced that in the life of the Armed Forces "there have been many qualitative and systemic changes." As an example, he cited an increase in the share of new technology in strategic nuclear forces to 82%.

“The latest strategic-range hypersonic missile system with the Vanguard planning wing unit began to arrive at the Strategic Missile Forces. This weapon of the future is capable of overcoming both current and prospective missile defense, ”Putin emphasized.

Also, as the Russian president explained, important steps have been taken to improve control systems, communications, reconnaissance and electronic warfare. In addition, complexes based on digital technologies and artificial intelligence are supplied to the Russian troops.

Putin did not bypass the successes of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria. According to the head of state, the domestic group of the Aerospace Forces and the Navy are "guarantors of maintaining peace and stability in this country."

“A general analysis of the state of the Armed Forces shows their high combat readiness. All types and types of troops are capable of fulfilling their intended tasks, guaranteeing the peace and security of Russia. And this is fundamental, extremely important, given the international situation, the risks present here, ”Putin said.

Alexei Mukhin believes that Shoigu proved to be an effective leader in the most important department in the field of ensuring national security. In addition to rearmament, he attributed the victory of terrorism to Syria and the overall success in strengthening the Armed Forces to the merits of the Minister of Defense.

“Shoigu fulfilled almost all the instructions of the president and turned the Russian army into a combat-ready mechanism capable of adequately responding to current and potential threats. This is the main result of his work, ”concluded Mukhin.