Sergei Shoigu: Putin's right-hand man who has a family of secret love children
The Russian Defence Minister is currently trapped in a bitter feud with Wagner Chief Yevgeny Prigohzin and is said to have a few skeletons in the closet.
Russia: Expert discusses Sergei Shoigu
Sergei Shoigu had vanished for days. The Wagner Group were marching on Moscow, and many believed its boss, Yevgeny Prigohzin, wanted Shoigu's head.
Then, Wagner turned around, and Prigohzin was exiled to Belarus. A matter of hours later and there he was: Shoigu, inspecting troops in Ukraine.
While it is unclear when and where the footage was taken, released by Russian state news, it is widely regarded that Shoigu, 68, is safe — at least for now.
Shoigu was born on May 21, 1955, in Chadan, a town in the remote and poverty-stricken republic of Tuva, deep in the southern heartlands of Siberia.
His father, Kuzhuget Shoigu, was for a time editor of the Pravda newspaper, while his Ukrainian-born mother, Alexandra Yakovlevna Shoigu, was a member of the Tuva Regional Council of People's Deputies.
Because of his father's standing and rapid rise through the Soviet system, Shoigu was well placed to do well when he entered the world of work after gaining a degree in engineering from the Krasnoyarsk Polytechnic Institute in 1977.
He is unlike most of Putin's cronies in that his background is not in politics or the Soviet Union's KGB security agency.
Rather, he made his way in the construction business, working in the field for much of the late Eighties before being made Second secretary of the Abakan City Communist Party Committee, the capital of the Republic of Khakassia, in 1988 — the beginning of his political career.
While much is known of his work, only recently did it come to light that Shoigu had in fact fathered a handful of illegitimate children.
Alexei Navalny, the imprisoned Russian opposition politician, first brought to the public's attention at least one of the love children back in September 2022.
It came just as Russia called for a nationwide mobilisation of Russian citizens.
The person in question, Danila Shebunov, is a 22-year-old pop star who Shoigu is believed to share with Yelena Shebunova, a flight attendant.
Shebunov, known by his musical moniker 'Sheba', caused a stir on social media during the mobilisation after he posted an image of himself at a Turkish holiday resort.
"I heard it's getting colder in Moscow," a caption to one of his selfies read. "Here are some hot photos for you!"
Maria Pevchikh, an associate of Mr Navalny, told The Telegraph earlier this month: "Sheba doesn't need a military referral. He doesn't need to run for his life to escape mobilisation.
"He's a VIP child. His dad is not going to send him to the front line."
According to the Sunday Times, Shebunov isn't the only secret love child, and Shoigu is said to have fathered at least two other children with Shebunova.
Don't miss...
Cleverly claims Putin case for war 'publicly destroyed' as Russians turn on him [LATEST]
Wagner chief Prigozhin is ‘West’s worst nightmare’ [EXCLUSIVE]
Russian Duma member hits out at Putin as he calls for Wagner boss' head [REPORT]
He also has his own 'official children': Kseniya and Yulia Shoigu.
Kseniya is married to 33-year-old fitness blogger Alexey Stolyarov, and last year, Shoigu became embroiled in a bitter spat with Prigozhin and his supporters after it emerged Stolyarov had been able to dodge conscription because of his familial links.
When images emerged of the two holidaying in Dubai while Russian citizens were being packed onto buses headed for Ukraine, Prigozhin said: "How can Shoigu's son-in-law go to the United Arab Emirates and shake his bum around?
"I recommend that the elite of the Russian federation gathers up, b***h, its youth and send them to war."