Andrey Belousov, Minister of Defense of Russia. Biography

Andrey Belousov was born in 1959 in Moscow. His father, Ram Belousov, was a participant in the Great Patriotic War (WWII). In the post-war years, he worked as an economist, including in government agencies. The mother of the future head of the Ministry of Defense, Alisa Belousova, was engaged in the chemistry of rare elements.

In 1972, the Belousov family had a younger son, Dmitry. Currently, he heads the Laboratory for Analysis and Forecasting of macroeconomic processes at the Institute of National Economic Forecasting (INP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Andrei Belousov received his secondary education at the prestigious "Second" Physics and Mathematics School in Moscow (modern Lyceum "Second School" named after Vladimir Ovchinnikov). In his youth, he was fond of martial arts — he practiced sambo and karate. After graduation, he entered the Faculty of Economics at Moscow State University and graduated with honors in 1981. He continued his postgraduate studies at the Central Economic and Mathematical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences (CEMI).

With a new genus: troops of unmanned systems will be created in Russia

The organizational structure of the units will be formed next year

In 2006, he defended his doctoral thesis and received a doctorate in Economics.

Andrey Belousov — scientific activity

For more than two decades, Belousov has been engaged in scientific activities. From 1981 to 1986, he worked as a research intern and then as a junior researcher at CEMI. In 1986-2006, he collaborated with the Institute of Economics and Forecasting of Scientific and Technological Progress of the USSR Academy of Sciences (sovr. INP RAS), held the positions of senior researcher and head of the laboratory.

From 2000 to 2006, Belousov headed the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-term Forecasting, and was also a freelance adviser to the chairmen of the Russian government. In addition, he collaborated with the Center for Strategic Research during the development of the country's development program until 2010. In 2005, Belousov published a report, the central theme of which was the long-term trends of the Russian economy. In particular, it predicted the crisis of 2008.

Andrey Belousov in the civil service

Belousov joined the civil service in 2006, taking up the post of Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Russia. In 2008-2012, he served as Director of the Department of Economics and Finance of the Government Staff. During the 2008 crisis, he personally prepared documents for Vladimir Putin, who was the country's prime minister at the time.

In 2012, Belousov became the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation in the government of Dmitry Medvedev. In 2013, he joined the Presidential Administration and became assistant to the head of state on economic issues.

In January 2020, Belousov was appointed First Deputy chairman in the government of Mikhail Mishustin. In May of the same year, he served as prime Minister for three months, as the head of government was hospitalized with coronavirus.

As Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, he worked on the development of the main directions of socio-economic policy, coordinated the work on the implementation of national projects, supervised the issues of monetary, financial, credit and monetary policy of the country, monitored the activities of development institutions, the implementation of investment projects and other important areas of state life.

Andrey Belousov as Minister of Defense of Russia

In May 2024, Mishustin's government resigned after the next Russian presidential election, and Belousov was not included in the new list of deputy prime ministers and ministers. However, on May 12, Putin nominated him for the post of defense minister. Commenting on this appointment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that the department needs the "most open to ideas" person, especially in the context of the growing budget of the Ministry of Defense and the entire security sector.

Belousov himself noted that the head of state had set him two main tasks: to integrate the economy of the Armed Forces into the overall economy of the country, as well as to make the work of the Ministry of Defense as open to innovation as possible.

"I pledge to use all my strength, health and, if necessary, life to solve the tasks set," he stressed, speaking at the plenary session of the Federation Council.

In June 2024, Belousov also became a permanent member of the Russian Security Council and a member of the Russian Military-Industrial Commission.