Sergey Shoygu

Sergey Shoygu Сергей Шойгу
Minister of Defence
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 November 2012
President	Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister	Dmitry Medvedev
Preceded by	Anatoliy Serdyukov
Governor of Moscow Oblast
In office 11 May 2012 – 6 November 2012
Deputy	Ruslan Tsalikov
Preceded by	Boris Gromov
Succeeded by	Andrey Yuryevich Vorobyov (Acting)
Leader of United Russia
In office 1 December 2001 – 15 April 2005
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Boris Gryzlov
Minister of Emerencies Situations
In office 17 April 1991 – 11 May 2012
Prime Minister	Boris Yeltsin Yegor Gaidar (acting) Viktor Chernomyrdin Sergei Kiriyenko Viktor Chernomyrdin (acting) Yevgeny Primakov Sergei Stepashin Vladimir Putin Mikhail Kasyanov Viktor Khristenko (acting) Mikhail Fradkov Viktor Zubkov Vladimir Putin Viktor Zubkov (acting) Dmitry Medvedev
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	Vladimir Puchkov
Personal details
Born	(1955-05-21) 21 May 1955 Chadan, Soviet Union (now Russia)
Political party	Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Before 1991) Independent (1991–1995) Our Home-Russia (1995–1999) Unity (1999–2001) United Russia (2001–present)
Spouse(s)	Irina Shoigu
Children	Yulia Ksenia
Alma mater	Krasnoyarsk Polytechnical Institute
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Soviet Union Russia
Service/branch	Military Council of the civil defense troops of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
Years of service	1991 — present
Rank	General of the Army
Awards

Sergey Kuzhugetovich Shoygu (Russian: Серге́й Кужуге́тович Шойгу́) (born May 21, 1955) is a Russian political figure who was Minister of Emergency Situations from 1991 to 2012. He holds the military rank of General of the Army. He is also the President of the International Sport Federation of Firefighters and Rescuers.

In March 2012, he was announced as one of the potential candidates for the Governor of Moscow Oblast. In April 5, 2012 he was elected as the 3rd Governor of Moscow Oblast, and entered into his office in May 11, 2012. On November 6, 2012 he was appointed Minister of Defence of Russia.

Early life and education

Shoigu was born in Chadan, Tuva to a Tuvan father and a Russian mother. In 1977, Shoigu graduated from the Krasnoyarsk Polytechnic Institute with a degree in Civil Engineering. Following graduation in 1977, he worked in the construction industry for the next decade, advancing from low levels to become an executive. In 1988 he became a minor functionary in the Abakan branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and then in Komsomol for a couple of years. In 1990 he moved to Moscow from Siberia and was appointed Deputy Chief of State Architecture and Construction Committee of the Russian Federation.

Ministry of Emergency situations

In 1991, he was appointed the head of Rescuer Corps, which was later given more responsibilities and renamed first to the State Committee on Emergencies, and eventually to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, making Shoigu a government minister. He became popular because of his hands-on management style and high visibility during emergency situations, such as floods, earthquakes and acts of terrorism. In 1999 he became one of the leaders of the Russian pro-government party Unity. He was awarded the Russia's most prestigious state award – Hero of the Russian Federation – in 1999.

Governor of Moscow Oblast

In May 11, 2012 he entered to his office as Governor, after he was elected in April 5, 2012 by Moscow Oblast Duma (legislature).

Ministry of Defence

On November 6, 2012 Shoygu was appointed Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation when Putin ousted his longtime ally, Anatoly Serdyukov. During a meeting, Putin alluded to another apparent disagreement, urging General Gerasimov to smooth over relations with the defense manufacturing sector. Defense plants have complained that the top military brass too frequently update their orders for weapons and other military hardware.

“The situation in the scientific-technical sphere is changing quickly, and new means of armed warfare are appearing,” Putin said. “We should orient ourselves toward optimal means, but still need to maintain a certain stability. I am counting on you and the ministry to establish stable, good collegial work with our leading manufacturers in the defense sector.”

Some analysts on Friday concluded that General Gerasimov was being instructed to accept outdated Russian-made weaponry.

Defense manufacturing dominates large areas of Russia, in many of the places Putin counted on as bases of support in the presidential election in March. Major government orders buoyed economic prospects in many of those places during Putin’s campaign, helping him to win about 64 percent of the vote nationwide. Military spending has become a tense subject this fall, however, when the government turned its attention to the budget.

Aleksandr Golts, writing for the Web site Yezhednevny Zhurnal, said that Serdyukov had refused to buy obsolete weaponry.

“The stubbornness of the Ministry of Defense has turned into a political problem for Putin,” Golts wrote. “Serdyukov’s position would make it impossible to spend trillions on feeding the obedient part of the population.”

Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs, said the $634 billion that Putin had pledged for military spending was unlikely to ever be allocated.

“Serdyukov was one of those who said, ‘If you don’t produce good and cheap weapons, we will buy it abroad,’ and that was a profound change in the psychology,” Lukyanov said.

Putin’s instructions on Friday, he added, show that “for the time being, the defense industry has won.” But he doubted that this deal would hold for long.

“They will try to pacify the military industry, maybe to increase their arms purchases, but they will not keep their monopoly,” Lukyanov said. “They will gradually get them to understand that the time when they could sell anything to the Russian state — it’s over.”

Personal life

Sergey Shoygu is married to Irina Shoygu, and has two daughters (Yuliya, born 1977 and Kseniya, born 1991). In his spare time, Shoigu enjoys sports such as football and horseback riding, and enjoys music of Vanessa Mae and The Ramones. He speaks nine languages, including English, Japanese and Turkish. He also has the largest collection of ancient samurai swords in Russia, worth over $40 million.

Russian scientist Viktor Petrik attempted to use Shoygu's name to market his water filters. Shoygu has requested that Petrik cease using his name to market products.

On May 16, 2011, Shoigu fired his personal driver because of the driver's threat to shoot a motorist made during a row on a Moscow Ring Road.

Awards

• Hero of the Russian Federation
• Order of Merit for the Fatherland 2nd class
• Order of Merit for the Fatherland 3rd class
• Order of Honour
• Order for Personal Courage (USSR)
• Medal Defender of a Free Russia
• Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow"
• Medal "In Commemoration of the 300th Anniversary of Saint Petersburg"
• Medal "In Commemoration of the 1000th Anniversary of Kazan"
• Three Medals "For Strengthening Military Cooperation" (Ministry of Defence)
• Medal "For Diligence in Engineering Tasks" (Ministry of Defence)
• Medal "200 Years of the Ministry of Defence" (Ministry of Defence)
• Medal "200 Years of the Ministry of Internal Affairs" (MVD)
• Medal "For Merit of the Stavropol Territory"
• Honoured Rescue Worker of the Russian Federation
• Order of "Merit of the Altai Territory"
• Honorary Citizen of the Kemerov Oblast
• Order "Danaker" (Kyrgyzstan)

References

Political offices
Preceded by Anatoliy Serdyukov	Minister of Defence 2012–present	Incumbent
Preceded by Boris Gromov	Governor of Moscow Oblast 2012	Succeeded by Ruslan Tsalikov Acting
Preceded by Position established	Ministry of Emergency Situations 1991–2012	Succeeded by Vladimir Puchkov
Party political offices
New office	Leader of United Russia 2001–2005	Succeeded by Boris Gryzlov