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Andrei Removich Belousov

On 12 May 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed the civilian economist Andrei Removich Belousov to lead the Defense Ministry. Belousov was an assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, hereditary economist, Doctor of Economics. On the sidelines of the authorities, he is called the Gray Cardinal of the Russian economy, since representatives of various financial and economic groups and the head of state himself listen to his opinion. Often the adviser's statements are harsh. Opinions, for example, about increasing the retirement age or increasing the amount of utility bills cause disapproval of the population. However, Belousov, by putting the numbers into words, can explain the correctness of the decisions being made. There are only positive reviews about him both from ministers and from schoolmates. Representatives of political forces do not find any unflattering words to address the presidential adviser.

Putin's appointment of Belousov is a clear indication that Putin has decided that war in Ukraine, and the larger confrontation with the Collective West, will be a long war, a war of the factories. Generally the natural division between a defense minister and a chief of the general staff is between the provisioning and equipping of forces, and their employment in battle. The division was blurred under the Soviet Union, and has only recently emerged in Russia. That the separation of responsibilities is yet incomplete is clearly manifested in the be-ribboned outfits of Shoigu.

There are notable precedents for appointing an individual with experience in the economy as minister of defense. Such appointments are commonly seen at times when management of the defense industrial base is paramount. Famously, Hitler appointed his architect Albert Speer as Minister of Armaments and War Production in late 1943, the culmination of a six month long accumulation of such responsibilities. By this time, it was increasingly clear that industrial output, rather that tactical genius, would decide the war.

In the United States, the very first Secretary of Defense was James Forrestal, a Wall Street investment banker, and Truman's fourth Defense Secretary, Robert A. Lovett, also came from Wall Street. Eisenhower's first SecDef, Charles E. Wilson, was nicknamed "Engine Charlie" Wilson by virtue of his long association with General Motors. Shifting brank loyalty, John Kennedy's first SecDef was from Ford Motors, Robert Strange McNamara. And so forth.

Commenting on President Putin's suggestion to nominate the economist Andrei Belousov as minister of defense, presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov emphasized the need to integrate the overall economy of the security sector, particularly the Ministry of Defense, into the national economy. "It is very important to align the economy of the security sector with the dynamics of the current moment," Peskov told journalists, explaining Putin's decision to appoint Belousov as minister of defense.

Peskov added that Belousov's appointment would not alter the "coordinate system" of the military component of the agency. "Regarding the military component, this appointment will not change the current coordinate system; the military component has always been the prerogative of the chief of the General Staff, who will continue his activities, and no changes are foreseen in this respect," Peskov told journalists.

If economist Andrei Belousov does get appointed as Russia’s newest minister of defense, it would not be the first time a civilian got put into that office, retired Russian naval officer (Captain 1st Rank) and military analyst Vasily Dandykin told Sputnik. “I believe that, first and foremost, he’s a man from the president’s team,” Dandykin commented on Belousov’s candidacy. “He was the first deputy prime minister and he actually knows very well the problems that [Russian] military-industrial complex faces. As always, our supreme commander-in-chief, the President of Russia, supervises all decisions.”

Russian military expert and military intelligence veteran Ret. Col. Rustem Klupov pointed out that Belousov is an accomplished economist of a very high caliber who advised prominent Russian statesmen. “If he is being appointed as the defense minister, it means that there will be goals of economic nature to complete,” Klupov suggested. According to him, the new minister’s duties might involve issues related to weapon procurement and defense contracts. “Gerasimov (Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russian Armed Forces’ Chief of General Staff) will conduct military operations and the defense minister will handle his own matters,” Klupov added.

Soviet and Russian Army veteran and military journalist Viktor Litovkin also highlighted Belousov’s impressive reputation as a scholar and an economist, noting that the latter also paid considerable attention to the military-industrial sphere and military matters during his career as a government official. “So far, there is no reason to question his expertise. He’s a distinguished man who paid a lot of attention while working in the government to the military-industrial complex and to the connection between the military and the industry.”

Belousov was born on March 17, 1959 in Moscow, USSR. Father Rem Aleksandrovich Belousov is a Soviet economist, head of a department at the Academy of Social Sciences under the CPSU Central Committee, participant in the preparation of the reform, and a front-line soldier. Mother Alisa Pavlovna is a radiochemist, candidate of chemical sciences.

Andrey graduated from the Second School of Physics and Mathematics. In 1976 he entered Moscow State University. Lomonosov, graduated with honors. In 1981 he graduated with honors from the Faculty of Economics of Moscow State University. M.V. Lomonosov. He continued his postgraduate studies at the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Andrei Belousov’s working biography began at the Central Economic Institute of the Academy of Sciences. In his youth, 1981 to 1986 – research intern, junior researcher at the laboratory of modeling human-machine systems of the Central Institute of Economics and Mathematics of the USSR Academy of Sciences. At CEMI, Andrei Removich worked closely with deputy director Yuri Yaremenko, and was acquainted with the head of the laboratory, Alexander Shokhin. In 1986, the economist moved to the Institute of Economics and Forecasting Scientific and Technological Progress, created on the basis of CEMI.

In 1988, Andrei Removich successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis on the topic: “Simulation modeling of mechanisms for the formation and use of working capital - a multi-sectoral approach.” From 1986 to 2006 – junior researcher, researcher, senior researcher, head of the laboratory of the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of Scientific and Technological Progress of the USSR Academy of Sciences/Institute of National Economic Forecasting of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Since 1991, while working at the IEPNTP, Andrei Belousov has been consulting government agencies. Since 1999, he has been a member of the board of the Ministry of Economy, working with prime ministers Yevgeny Primakov and Mikhail Fradkov.

In the 1990s, Russia switched to a market economy. Andrey Belousov was able to predict difficulties in market Russia, make macroeconomic forecasts and market analysis. The expert enjoyed unquestioned authority.

In 2000, the economist established the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting and became its head. And in 2005, Andrei Belousov’s work “Long-term trends in the Russian economy: scenarios for the economic development of Russia until 2020” was published. It included a forecast of the 2008 crisis and the economic decline of 2011–2012.

In 2006, Andrei Belousov moved to public service. At the invitation of the Russian Minister of Economic Development, German Gref, he took the position of his deputy. In the same year, he received a Doctor of Economics degree, having defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic: “Contradictions and prospects for the development of the reproduction system of the Russian economy” in the specialty “Economics and Management of the National Economy.”

At the Ministry, Andrei Belousov oversaw the macroeconomic block, including issues of improving the investment climate, the implementation of federal target programs, and the investment activities of Vnesheconombank. Under his leadership, the Concept of long-term socio-economic development of the CDR-2020 and the bill “On Trade” were developed.

In 2007, when German Gref left the Ministry of Economic Development, Elvira Nabiullina was appointed minister. Belousov retained his post, and then, in 2008, he was promoted to the Russian Government: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin appointed him director of the department of economics and finance of the Russian Government. As a result, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Igor Shuvalov, Andrey Belousov and Elvira Nabiullina were responsible for shaping the economic agenda of the Russian Government in 2008-2012.

In the Russian Government, Belousov was responsible for issues related to budget formation, public investment, and improving the investment climate. Under it, the Agency for Strategic Initiatives was created and the so-called “National Entrepreneurial Initiative” was launched on its basis, aimed at improving the conditions for doing business in Russia.

In 2008, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin invited Andrei Removich to head the Department of Economics and Finance of the Russian Government. Under the government of the Russian Federation,

Belousov was involved in the formation of the Russian budget and public investments. He also participated in the creation of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives and the National Entrepreneurial Initiative based on it.

In 2012, Vladimir Putin won the presidential elections. In the new Cabinet of Ministers, headed by, Andrei Removich took the post of Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. It was assumed that Belousov took the post not by chance: the Kremlin put Andrei Removich as a counterweight to the Minister of Finance, the successor of ideas. It is known that Kudrin is a long-time opponent of Belousov (he was fired from the post of Minister of Finance for refusing to work under Dmitry Medvedev). Andrey Belousov outlined his work as minister as follows: improving the business climate, developing the public functions of the Ministry of Economic Development, optimizing the management of state property and creating a mechanism for implementing the priorities of the state’s economic policy. He also planned to bring two departments closer together - the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance.

On June 24, 2013, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree appointing Andrei Belousov as Assistant to the President for Economic Affairs . According to experts, a place in an inert government was not suitable for an active economist. In the presidential administration, Belousov had more room to seek consensus on economic issues. Andrei Removich plays the role of a negotiator between the government and economists, trying to determine where the state can get funds and where to redirect them.

On January 21, 2020, he was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation. As First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation he coordinated the work of federal executive authorities, gives them instructions on various issues:

• developing the main directions of socio-economic development of the Russian Federation, coordinating work to achieve the national development goals of the Russian Federation;
• general coordination, monitoring of the implementation of national projects in interaction with the curators of national projects;
• development, implementation and control of the national project “Small and Medium Enterprises and Support for Individual Entrepreneurial Initiatives”;
• development, implementation and control of the national project "International Cooperation and Export";
• development, implementation and control of the national project “Labor Productivity and Employment Support”;
• development of state policy in the field of foreign economic activity and foreign trade;
• countering sanctions.
• Supervised the development of critical technologies for creating high-speed vehicles and intelligent control systems for new types of transport.
• Supervised (controled) the development of certain high-tech areas (cross-cutting technologies) and the implementation of relevant agreements of intent between the Government of the Russian Federation and state corporations and companies with state participation for promising space systems and services.
• Carried out general coordination of supervision (control) of the development of certain high-tech areas (cross-cutting technologies) within the framework of the implementation of agreements of intent between the Government of the Russian Federation and state corporations and companies with state participation.

Russia is planning to produce 18,000 drones annually by the end of 2026 and 32,000 unmanned aerial vehicles a year by 2030, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov said on 28 April 2023. Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Rudnevo industrial park, where drones are being manufactured, to hold a meeting on the development of unmanned aviation. "We expect that by the end of the next budget cycle, that is, by the end of 2026, the Russian industry will be able to reach an annual production capacity of 18,000 drones. This does not include ultra-light drones weighing less than one kilogram. Domestic demand will be covered by some 52%. And by 2030, it will reach the volume of 32,000 drones per year with the level of demand coverage of about 70%," Belousov told the meeting.

The official added that Russia's domestic needs for drones are currently covered by over 30%. Belousov said that the national project for the development of unmanned aerial vehicles by 2030 is preliminary estimated at 660 billion rubles ($8.1 billion), including "state and civil orders, measures to support manufacturers, equipment for airports and communication networks, and creating research and production centers," adding that about 240 billion rubles will be required between 2024 and 2026.

Andrey Belousov is married to Larisa Vladimirovna Belousova (Avdeeva), born in 1961. The wife, an economist by training, is engaged in journalism. Son Pavel was born in 1994, after school he became a student at Moscow State Technical University. Bauman, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. Information about the politician’s personal life is scant, especially since Andrei Removich is not a supporter of social networks such as Instagram.

The official's hobby is the history of painting (the economist knows the history of paintings like a professional, and has been interested in painting since school). He practiced martial arts, regularly visits the gym, and enjoys athletic gymnastics.