MOSCOW/LONDON ¨C With zero military experience, Andrei Belousov, a wiry white-haired economist and Orthodox churchgoer who enjoys rock climbing, seems an odd pick to be Russia¡¯s new defense minister at a time when Moscow is waging war against Ukraine.
But six sources, some of whom have worked with Belousov, described a tough-talking and professional government insider who once led a campaign to wring more money out of big business for the state, proving he had sharp enough elbows to navigate the system.
In wartime, Russia¡¯s defense minister must oversee vast financial flows and economic and industrial planning while leaving the day-to-day battlefield management to others. Belousov¡¯s ability to get things done ¡ª having raised around 300 billion rubles ($3 billion) with a tax on corporate windfall profits ¡ª is likely to have impressed President Vladimir Putin.
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