Overview

Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu is a Russian politician and military officer who has served as the secretary of the Security Council of Russia since May 2024. This appointment followed his 12-year tenure as Russia’s minister of defense from 2012 to 2024. During Shoigu’s leadership of the Ministry of Defense, the Russian Armed Forces executed several significant military operations, including the unrecognized annexation of Crimea (2014), military intervention in Syria (2015), support for pro-Russian rebellions in the Donbas region (from 2014), and invasion of Ukraine (from 2022). Shoigu also oversaw Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU), which faced accusations of two nerve agent poisonings: a 2018 attack in Salisbury, United Kingdom, and the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Siberia in 2020. Shoigu’s career has earned him numerous accolades, including the title “Hero of the Russian Federation,” awarded by presidential decree on September 20, 1999, for his courage and heroism in extreme situations.

Born on May 21, 1955, in Chadan, Tuvan Autonomous Oblast, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, in what was then the Soviet Union, Shoigu graduated from the Krasnoyarsk Polytechnic Institute and worked in Siberia’s construction industry. He later served as Russia’s minister of emergency situations from 1994 to 2012. Observers described Shoigu as a “perfect chameleon,” adept at transforming himself to please his leaders and adapt to changing times. This adaptability enabled him to sustain a long-lasting political career spanning the reigns of the Communist Party before the Soviet Union’s fall, Russia’s first president Boris Yeltsin (who appointed Shoigu as the minister of emergency situations), and finally, the extended rule of Vladimir Putin.

Sergei Shoigu’s tenure as minister of defense was marked by a complex and volatile relationship with Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group. Between 2012 and 2022, Prigozhin’s personal calendar revealed 32 meetings with Shoigu or his assistant, indicating a degree of coordination. This included Prigozhin’s appeals for tax write-offs on equipment he provided to the Ministry of Defense. However, tensions between the two men also ran deep, dating at least to the 2018 Battle of Khasham in Syria. During this engagement, U.S.-led forces killed dozens of Wagner fighters after official Ministry of Defense channels disavowed any connection to the paramilitary group, leading Prigozhin to blame Shoigu for the debacle. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine further strained their relationship, with Prigozhin repeatedly accusing Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov of responsibility for thousands of Russian deaths due to the ministry’s failure to provide necessary equipment for Wagner units. This conflict reached a boiling point in June 2023 when Prigozhin announced a “march of justice” on Moscow, claiming that Shoigu had personally authorized missile strikes on Wagner camps.

Journalistic investigations uncovered instances of alleged corruption involving Shoigu, including ownership of expensive undisclosed property often registered to his children. Companies registered to his daughter Ksenia Shoigu and alleged lover Elena Shebunova reportedly profited from various state projects, including the 2018 World Cup stadium construction and a nuclear power plant. These projects primarily involved Stroytransgaz, a company owned by billionaire Gennady Timchenko, a close friend and ally of Shoigu.

In May 2024, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its third year, Vladimir Putin replaced Shoigu as defense minister with Andrei Belousov and appointed Shoigu as secretary of Russia’s National Security Council. This dismissal coincided with the removal of Ruslan Tsalikov, who was the first deputy minister of defense under Shoigu, and the arrest of Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov on corruption charges.

On June 24, 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Shoigu and Gerasimov. The ICC accused them of committing international crimes in Ukraine from at least October 10, 2022, to March 9, 2023. Both allegedly bear responsibility for war crimes, including targeting civilian objects and causing excessive harm to civilians. The ICC also charged Shoigu and Gerasimov with crimes against humanity.