The 68-year-old, who has held the position since 2012, will be named Russia’s Security Council secretary.
Andrei Belousov, the deputy prime minister, will succeed Mr. Shoigu, according to documents released by the upper house of the Russian parliament.
According to the Kremlin, the defense ministry must continue to be “innovative”.
According to Russian official documents, Vladimir Putin wants Sergei Shoigu to succeed Nikolai Patrushev as head of the influential security council. What Mr. Patrushev will be doing in his new role is still unknown.
President Putin and Mr. Shoigu are personal friends, and Mr. Shoigu frequently takes the president fishing in his native Siberia.
The defense portfolio was handed to him.
