The Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Saturday Andrei Bulyga, current Deputy Minister of Defence, to the position of Under-Secretary-General of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, according to a decree published on the Kremlin's official website.
Bulyga, lieutenant general, had occupied since March 2024 the position of deputy minister in charge of logistic support within the Ministry of Defence. He has now been promoted to a strategic position within the Security Council, a key body overseeing the national defense and security policy of Russia.
In a second decree, Putin designated the Colonel-General Alexandre Sanchik, former commander of southern military district, to replace Bulyga in the position of Deputy Minister of Defence.
This appointment comes in a context of continuous reshuffling of the military high command, while the Kremlin attempts to restore stability within the Ministry of Defense, which has been shaken by a series of corruption scandalsSince April 2024, more than a dozen senior officials — including three former deputy ministers — were arrested for embezzlement and bribery.
The long-serving Minister of Defence, Sergei Shoigu, had himself left his position in May 2024 become Secretary of the Security Council, following criticism of the handling of the war in Ukraine and the corruption cases that have tarnished his ministry.
Bulyga's rise to power, perceived as a loyal and pragmatic technocrat, strengthens the Kremlin's direct control over defense matters and illustrates Putin's desire to tighten the safety device around his loyal followers as the war in Ukraine drags on.
