Sergei Shoigu

Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu (Russian: Сергей Кужугетович Шойгу) (born 21 May, 1955) is a Russian politician and General of the Army who has served as Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Defense of the CIS since 2012.

Sergei Shoigu in 2015

Quotes

• They say that we are engaged in the militarization of the country, so that everyone would walk in formation there. This, of course, is far from the case.
  • "Shoigu denied plans to militarize youth with the help of Yunarmiya", Interfax, 19 September 2016

• What is on [Britain’s] coat of arms, a lion, isn’t it? There is an old saying: every lion is a cat, but not every cat is a lion. Everyone should deal with their affairs. We do not think that there is an animal in their zoo that can tell a bear what to do.
  • In a response directed to UK Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon, as quoted in Russian defence minister tells UK it cannot 'tell our bear what to do' (February 22, 2017)

• After everything Germany has done to our country, I think, they should not talk on the issue for another two hundred years. Ask your grandparents about their experience of talking to Russia from the position of strength. They will probably be able to tell you.
  • In a response directed to German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, as quoted in "Germans, ask your grandfathers about Russia" (August 13, 2018)

• The greatest focus should be on fighting international terrorism, which in short time became the largest threat to global security. The situation is compounded by the numerous local conflicts in the world and the failure of the West to overcome differences and to ensure the creation of a United front against this evil.
  • "Russian Defence Minister appreciated the activities of the SCO in matters of international security" (2017)

• The joint dialogue between the foreign policy and defenсe departments of Russia and Japan makes a serious contribution to creating an atmosphere of mutual trust and security in the Pacific Rim.
  • "Russian-Japanese Military Relations Make a Significant Contribution to Security in Pacific Rim" (May 30, 2019)

• We have achieved a high level of interaction between our armed forces on land, in the air and at sea. This increase is an important trend towards further activity.
  • "Russian defence minister praises cooperation with China at joint wargames" (August 13, 2021)

• After everything that happened in Syria, we were those who established peace in Syria, from those who had the main influence on the situation in this country, defeated terrorism, starting an operation when Damascus controlled that 18 per cent of Syrian territory, and today in fact more than 90 per cent, then, naturally, they [the West] began to say that "Russia is behaving somehow wrong in Syria."
  • "In an Interview with the Tengrinews.kz" (March 16, 2021)

• We were lucky in that, we still managed to stop [the West] in time. The process of returning to common sense… began in 1999. Starting from that moment, by putting a lot of effort, we have achieved that the world today has ceased to be unipolar.
  • "In an interview with the media outlet Moskovskij Komsomolets" (2019)

• The meaning of what is happening, from my point of view, is as follows: patterns and algorithms for overthrowing any legal authority in any country inconvenient for West, have long been created. Of course, all this is done under the banner of promoting democracy. Well, in which country where they 'came with democracy' did this democracy take root: in Iraq, Afghanistan or Libya? Or in the former Yugoslavia, which they forcibly divided into 6 countries with their 'democratic' bombing in 1999. And you can simply forget about sovereignty and independence after any American intervention.
  • "In an interview with the media outlet Moskovskij Komsomolets" (2019)

• Our strategic and long-range bombers have started to conduct flights to areas where they used to fly in the past. These flights are carried out according to schedule… How is it possible to bully your neighbors using strategic bombers?
  • "Russia's Flew Two Nuclear-Capable Tu-160 Strategic Bombers Near Alaska" (19 August 2019)

• I would not speak about Ukraine as a threat. I think that Ukraine and the Ukrainian people is a brotherly nation. They are not just our neighbors, we are a single people.
  • "Russia doesn’t consider Ukraine as threat, says defense minister", TASS, 29 August 2021

• The main goal for us is to protect the Russian Federation from the military threat posed by Western countries that are trying to use the Ukrainian people in the fight against our country.
  • Said about the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, quoted in "Russia's main goal in Ukraine is to protect Russia from the West", Pravda, 1 March 2022

• During the special operation, we strictly adhere to the norms of humanitarian law. The strikes are carried out with high-precision weapons against the objects of the military infrastructure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – control points, airfields, warehouses, fortified areas, objects of the military-industrial complex. At the same time, everything is done to avoid casualties among peaceful citizens, of course, it slows down the pace of the offensive, but we do it deliberately.
  • Claimed without providing evidence, quoted in "Shoigu again says Russia is deliberately slowing down its “special operation”", Euromaidan Press, 24 August 2022

• Ukraine lost half of the army: 61,207 dead, 49,368 wounded.
• Losses of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation - 5937 people.
• A total of 300,000 reservists will be called up during partial mobilization.
• Today we are at war not only with Ukraine and the Ukrainian army, but with the collective West.
  • "300 тысяч резервистов призовут в армию: Сергей Шойгу объяснил, как пройдет частичная мобилизация в России" (In Russian; "300 thousand reservists will be drafted into the army: Sergei Shoigu explained how partial mobilization will take place in Russia"), Komsomolskaya Pravda, 21 September 2022

• Victory, like the New Year, is inevitable.
  • "Russia defence minister says victory 'inevitable' in New Year message", Hindustan Times, 31 December 2022

Speech at the opening ceremony of the VI Moscow Conference on International Security (2017)

"Excerpts from Speech at the opening ceremony of the VI Moscow Conference on International Security"

• We firmly believe that elimination of the ISIS in Syria is possible only by the joint efforts of all countries.

• We do not exclude the possibility of closer Russian-American coordination in fight against the ISIS and creation of additional communication channels for rapid resolution of crisis situations.

• I would like to emphasize that Russia's actions for strengthening the defence are the balanced response to the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance, the development of military infrastructure in the bordering countries, and the deployment of additional military contingents. NATO is a military-political coalition but not a group of philatelists.

• The activity of the NATO’s "police" aviation mission on patrolling the Baltic states’ airspace has actually become a part of the so-called limited access zone, covering the Kaliningrad region and the eastern part of the Baltic Sea. We consider such activities of the NATO as a violation of the power balance in the region, endangering the Russian Federation security.

External links

• earlier quotes available in Russian