Shoigu makes the sign of the cross as he enters Red Square to commemorate Victory Day, May 9, 2015.[1]
Sergei Shoigu (b. May 21, 1955 in Chadan, Republic of Tuva) held the position of Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation beginning in November 2012. Previously, Shoigu held the position of Minister of Emergency Situations from April 1991 to May 2012 under the Yeltsin, Putin, and Medvedev administrations. Shoigu was replaced as Minister of Defense by Andrei Belousov at the start of President Vladimir Putin's 5th term in May 2024. Shoigu was appointed Secretary of the Security Council replacing Nikolai Patrushev.
Shoigu graduated from the Krasnoyarsk Polytechnic Institute in 1977 with a degree in Construction Engineering. Shoigu holds a PhD in Economics. As an Army General Shoigu was awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation.