Sergey Shoygu — politician with roots in the USSR
Sergei Shoigu is a Russian politician and military officer of Tuvan and Russian heritage who served as Russia's Minister of Defence (2012-2024) — overseeing the Russian military's invasion of Ukraine. One of Russia's longest-serving and most politically significant officials, he was removed by Putin in 2024.
Tracing the roots — Tuva/Russian border
Born in Chadan, Tuva (then part of the USSR) in 1955 to a Tuvan father and a Russian mother, Shoigu represents the multiethnic fabric of the Russian Federation. His Tuvan heritage — from the small Turkic-speaking republic that only became part of the USSR in 1944 — makes him one of the most ethnically distinctive figures in modern Russian governance.
Russian defense minister.[web:61]
Tuva/Russian border. At the time, this region was one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union.