Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu: Control of the nuclear weapons stationed in Belarus remains on the Russian side. © Pavel Bednyakov/Pool Sputnik Kremlin/AP/dpa
The musician Sheba is said to be the son of the Russian Minister of Defense. This is reported by the team around Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny.
Munich – The musician Sheba is said to be the son of Defense Minister Sergei Kushugetovich Shoigu. The team of imprisoned Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny revealed this in a report published on Twitter, among other things: "We found Shoigu's son. Not in a military unit, not in a trenches, not even in a warm armchair in the General Staff of the Army. We found him in the charts of 'Europa Plus'." Europa Plus is a Russian radio station that follows Western trends in its music selection.
According to information from the Navalny team, Danil Sergeyevich Shebunov, as Sheba's real name is, is the illegitimate son of Vladimir Putin's defense minister and former flight attendant Elena Shebunova. Shoigu and Shebunova are said to have been having an affair since the early 2000s, resulting in three children. Shoigu's ministry denies the reports.
Shebunov belongs to the young Russian elite and is said to be financing his music career with rental income in the five-figure range. Instead of being on the front lines, Shebunov takes care of his music career. He, unlike many of his peers, does not have to worry about his survival. Who has to go to war in Ukraine also seems to be decided by status. In his music video for the song "Let Me In", he shows himself on the cover of a magazine at the beginning.
Shoigu's son? Attention of the wrong kind
The video for "Let Me In" is well clicked, with over 2022,200 views since its release in October 000. However, this number is also in stark contrast to the channel's subscribers, who are only 856 (as of 09.06.2023). These numbers suggest that the views could be bought, the comment function is blocked. He doesn't seem to like the kind of attention the singer is getting now.
"The lives of ordinary Russians have no value if they are not the offspring of Putin's officials," Navalny's team wrote on Twitter. However, children of other Russians would be sent to war "without blinking an eye." While Shoigu's son's peers are sent to Ukraine to "slaughter" people, he bathes in the sea, throws parties and lives "his best life."