BEIJING, Nov. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- President Vladimir has dismissed ’s defense minister over corruption allegations. He’s said to have sold assets to commercial firms at a loss of nearly 100 million US dollars. Putin made the announcement of Anatoly Serdyukov’s dismissal at a meeting with Moscow regional governor Sergei Shoigu , who he’s appointed as the new minister.

Vladimir Putin, Russian President, said, "You know about the situation that, unfortunately, has formed around the defense ministry in recent weeks. And in order to create the necessary conditions for the objective investigation of all the questions that have appeared in connection with this situation, I decided to relieve defense minister Anatoly Serdyukov of his post."

Serdyukov’s replacement Sergei Shoigu had recently been named regional governor. He is known as a popular and loyal Putin ally during nearly two decades as head of the Emergencies Ministry. The defense minister wields immense power in Russia. It channels billions of dollars every year through the country’s defense industry. Russia is the second largest arms exporter in the world. Corruption has been endemic at the ministry for decades. According to Russia’s top military prosecutor, last year alone saw a fifth of the budget stolen or embezzled.

(Source: CNTV.cn)