Russia’s New Cabinet: Major Reshuffles of Personnel and Structure of Government
More than a third of the Russian Cabinet has been updated. Our PM now has four new deputies and nine ministries have new leaders. The structure of the Cabinet has also changed.
Denis Davydov with the details.
According to Dmitry Medvedev, the previous government proved its effectiveness and there is no need for major changes in the new Cabinet. Still, the executive branch of power underwent personnel and structural changes. There are ten deputy prime ministers now.
The new position of the First Deputy PM is occupied by Anton Siluanov, who also remains the Minister of Finance.
Olga Golodets became the Deputy PM for Sport and Culture.
Vitaly Mutko is responsible for construction, housing, and communal services. Previously, he worked as the Minister of Sports and Deputy PM for Sports, Tourism, and Youth Policy.
Dmitry Kozak, one of the most experienced deputy prime ministers, kept his position. In the new government, he's responsible for industry and energy.
The only deputy PM who retained both his position and sphere of responsibility is Yuri Trutnev. He was reassigned to the position of Presidential Envoy in the Far Eastern Federal District.
Former head of the Accounts Chamber Tatiana Golikova was appointed the deputy PM who oversees the social block. It's not a new field for her: in 2007-2012, she was the Minister of Health and Social Development.
The position of Deputy PM for the Defense Industry will be held by Yuri Borisov. Until now, he held the position of Deputy Defense Minister. He's a career officer with a Ph. D. in Engineering and he knows his way around the defense industry. For the last 6 years, he was responsible for organizing the equipment support of the military.
Yuri Borisov, Deputy Prime Minister: "All measures of import phase-out are on schedule. We check them every month".
Maxim Akimov is another new face on the list of deputy prime ministers, becoming the Deputy PM for Transportation. He began his political career in Kaluga, first as mayor, then as one of deputy governors, where he was developing the economy of the region. During the last 6 years, he supervised the same field as Deputy of the Government Apparatus.
Alexey Gordeyev is back in the government. He was appointed Deputy PM of the Agro-Industrial Complex. Gordeyev is a well-known figure in Russian agriculture. For ten years, he'd been the head of the corresponding ministry. Later he was the Governor of the Voronezh Region and Presidential Envoy in the Central Federal District.
Alexey Gordeyev, Deputy Prime Minister: "The right business climate and investment climate was created in the region so that agricultural entrepreneurs believed the authorities and could plan the development of their businesses on a long-term basis".
Deputy Prime Minister Konstantin Chuichenko will head the Government Apparatus. For the last ten years, he headed the Control Department of the President and was also the president of the Amur Tiger Supervisory Center, which is engaged in the preservation of the tiger population.
Konstantin Chuichenko, Deputy Prime Minister: "It's very important for us to awaken people's love and respect for the tiger".
Of the five ministers who directly report to the president, four have retained their positions. One of the most recognizable diplomats of our time, Sergey Lavrov, will continue to lead the foreign policy department. Minister of Defense General Sergey Shoigu remains in the ranks. Chief Police Officer Vladimir Kolokoltsev will continue to lead the Interior Ministry. Minister of Justice Alexander Konovalov has also retained his position.
The only power bloc ministry to have a new leader is the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Evgeny Zinichev is the new Minister of Emergency Situations. The 51-year-old has experience in civil service, but devoted the majority of his life to service in state security agencies.
Evgeny Zinichev, Minister of Emergency Situations: "The security of our borders is an indispensable condition for the existence of an independent Russia".
The total number of ministries has also changed. There are 22 of them now instead of 21. The Ministry of Education has been split in two: Higher Education and Science and Enlightenment, meaning, general education. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova introduced the heads of these ministries.
Tatyana Golikova, Deputy Prime Minister: “I came to you to introduce two newly appointed ministers: Olga Vasilyeva, who perhaps doesn't need an introduction, and Mikhail Kotyukov".
Professor Olga Vasilyeva has a Ph. D. in History. She was in charge of the previous ministry.
Olga Vasilyeva, Minister of Enlightenment: "The President's Address sets priorities for Russian schools to make it into the top ten education system global rankings for general education. I believe it's an ambitious task, but it's achievable".
Mikhail Kotyukov will be responsible for higher education and science. The 41-year-old was previously the head of the Federal Agency of Scientific Organizations.
Another new person in the government is Alexander Kozlov, the new Minister for the Development of the Far East. The young 37-year-old politician comes from the region; in fact, he was born in Sakhalin. He has been the governor of the Amur Region for the last 3 years. He's a strong manager who's always aware of what is happening in his region.
Alexander Kozlov, Minister for the Development of the Far East: "I manage everything personally. Today, we finished our detour at 3 a.m. The new shift has begun today. They report to me every 2-3 hours".
Vladimir Yakushev is the new Minister of Construction and Housing. He's moving to Moscow from the Tyumen Region, where he'd been the governor for the last 13 years. He managed to attract new investors as the region became one of the country's leaders in economic growth.
Vladimir Yakushev, Minister of Construction and Housing: "The ministry has done a lot recently. The most important thing is not to lose momentum, to continue all projects, and to preserve everything good that's already been done".
Another minister who used to work as governor is Dmitry Kobylkin. He headed the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District and now became the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources. He enjoyed significant popular support and implemented a number of important projects, including the Northern Latitudinal Road; one of the key transport, infrastructure, and logistics solutions for the development of the Russian North.
Dmitry Kobylkin, Minister of Natural Resources: "We have already invested about 30 billion and next year we plan to get the road in asphalt. Then, Salekhard will have a connection with the federal roads of the Russian Federation".
Evgeny Dietrich was appointed Minister of Transport. Previously, he was the Deputy Minister. Dietrich used to supervise the introduction of the PLATON system. He was also responsible for the highway part of the Crimean Bridge, which was recently finished ahead of schedule.
Evgeny Dietrich, Minister of Transport: "All our departments will need to work to make transportation well-coordinated and convenient".
Konstantin Noskov now leads the Ministry of Digital Development and Mass Communications. For the last six years, he led the Analytical Center for the Government of the RF, and participated in the creation of the largest domestic IT projects, such as the launch of the Gosuslugi portal. The new minister was introduced today by Deputy Prime Minister Maxim Akimov.
Maxim Akimov, Deputy Prime Minister: "Mr. Noskov did a lot for the IT industry. One of his greatest feats includes the abolition of what was known as 'mobile slavery".
Dmitry Patrushev will be the new Minister of Agriculture. He encountered the most pressing problems of our agro-industrial complex even before joining the government as the CEO of Rosselkhozbank, which he'd been managing for 8 years.
Dmitry Patrushev, Minister of Agriculture: "If we are talking about the total rate our borrower receives, including all regional and federal subsidies, it is approximately 6.7% per annum".
The Ministry for the Affairs of the North Caucasus is led by Sergei Chebotaryov, who served as the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration for Interregional Relations and Cultural Contacts with Foreign Countries.
Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin retained his position. He already thanked the president for trusting him.
Maxim Oreshkin, Minister of Economic Development: "There's still plenty of work to do. The decree we signed on May 7th includes many important projects. We'll have to work really hard".
The list of reappointed ministers includes Minister of Health Veronika Skvortsova, Minister of Energy Alexander Novak, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov, Minister of Labor and Social Security Maxim Topilin, Minister of Sports Pavel Kolobkov, and Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky.
Thus, the new Cabinet has been fully formed. Today, it has begun its work.
Denis Davydov, Anna Medvedeva Maria Rodimova, and Lyubov Miloradova Vesti.