Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded the ousting of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during his aborted mutiny. Aleksey Dyumin could be the one to replace him, analysts say.
Aleksey Dyumin, a former Kremlin security agent, has emerged as a potential candidate to replace Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, whose ousting was demanded by Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin during his mutiny attempt on June 24.
Born in Kursk, in western Russia, Dyumin, 50, is a former agent of the Federal Guard Service (FSO) that provides security for the president and other state officials, and was appointed as governor of Tula region by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2016. He previously served as Shoigu’s deputy in the Russian Ministry of Defense, and several analysts—Western and Russian—believe he has his eyes set on returning to the department as its head.
Dyumin served in Putin’s guard when he was president from 2000 to 2008 as well as when Putin headed the government from 2008 to 2012.
As the Wagner Group marched on Moscow during Prigozhin’s short-lived mutiny on June 24, the Russian tycoon declared that his goal was the resignation of the men leading Russia’s war in Ukraine—Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
