"the message sent by Belousov’s appointment is crystal clear: The war is here to stay."
"Replacing Shoigu with Belousov is unlikely to lead to any significant reduction in war-related graft and corruption—and Putin probably knows that. Rather, Belousov’s task will likely be to ensure a more even and sustainable distribution of the proceeds of said graft and corruption"
@kallekn This represents the triumph of war as the new normal, and the new basis for the economy. Now I wonder whether Patruchev has been Girkin'ed or whether he's working on something even worse. And isn't there a Patruchev jr who's politically climbing too?
@Loukas Patrushev is an old friend and he will get some honorary position, maybe with not much influence but a nice title. His son was already a government minister and will now be a vice premier, so the Patrushevs are not out in the cold.
@kallekn so I wonder if this means a cooling down of messianic Patruchevist nationalism as an inspiration for the Putin state. It'll be easier to compromise with China etc if the pragmatists are in charge too.
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