What would his successor, Andrei Belousov, bring to the table, and what would happen to the former head of the security council, Nikolai Patrushev - seen by many as a potential successor to Vladimir Putin?
The second question has a straightforward answer. Patrushev, it seems, is being sidelined. The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he had been appointed to the grand position of presidential aide for shipbuilding - barring any further surprise moves, this is a considerable downgrade in role.
What Shoigu's removal will mean is a bit trickier, but it may also be a case of Putin neutralising an ally who has become too powerful.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 24, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der May 24, 2024-Ausgabe von The Guardian Weekly.
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Finn family murals
The optimism that runs through Finnish artist Tove Jansson's Moomin stories also appears in her public works, now on show in a Helsinki exhibition
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Oulu is five hours north from Helsinki by train and a good deal colder and darker each winter than the Finnish capital. From November to March its 220,000 residents are lucky to see daylight for a couple of hours a day and temperatures can reach the minus 30s. However, this is not the reason I sense a darkening of the Finnish dream that brought me here six years ago.
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Rumbled How Ali ran rings around apartheid, 50 years ago
Fifty years ago, in a corner of white South Africa, Muhammad Ali already seemed a miracle-maker.
Trudeau faces 'iceberg revolt'as calls grow for PM to quit
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Lost Maya city revealed through laser mapping
After swapping machetes and binoculars for computer screens and laser mapping, a team of researchers have discovered a lost Maya city containing temple pyramids, enclosed plazas and a reservoir which had been hidden for centuries by the Mexican jungle.
'A civil war' Gangs step up assault on capital
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Reality bites in the Himalayan 'kingdom of happiness'
High emigration and youth unemployment levels belie the mountain nation's global reputation for cheeriness
