Der Wahrheitsminister: Russlands neuer Kriegsmanager

When appointed in May, Andrei Belousov (Russia’s new Defense Minister) stated that the military cannot lie, but Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan argue Belousov’s public image hides reality. One instance of this dishonesty was that the military did not acknowledge a Ukrainian drone downing two Su-57 jets in June. It appears that Belousov aims to control dissent within the military by meeting with war bloggers, allowing criticism internally and restricting information from the public.