New Putin Cabinet Announced
By ELLEN BARRY
Published: May 21, 2012
MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin revealed the makeup of Russia’s new cabinet on Monday, after repeated delays that prompted speculation that Kremlin power groups were fighting over key positions.
The list was notable for the absence of several Putin-era heavyweights, and included many new names, though none known to be proponents of radical change.
The most significant player to leave the cabinet is Deputy Prime Minister Igor I. Sechin, considered the leader of a group known as the siloviki, powerful Putin allies who once served in Russia’s security and intelligence services. Mr. Sechin oversaw Russia’s energy policy, arguing for state control over the sector.
Also exiting are three unpopular ministers who are widely blamed for corruption or poor management: Health Minister Tatyana Golikova, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev and Education Minister Andrei A. Fursenko.
The new government grants a broad portfolio to Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, a close aide to Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev, Mr. Putin’s predecessor as president and seen as one of the most liberal and Western-oriented of Russia’s senior officials. Mr. Dvorkovich will oversee industry, including energy, transport and agriculture, reported the daily newspaper Vedomosti last week, citing unnamed Kremlin officials.
Mr. Medvedev has also selected, as his chief of staff, the veteran political operative Vladislav Y. Surkov, who played a key role in concentrating power in the Kremlin but recently began advocating more open political competition, asserting that “centralization has reached the limits of its capacity.”
The return of Mr. Surkov, absent from the political arena for many months, strengthens Mr. Medvedev’s hand as he adjusts to a more vulnerable position after four years as president. In the past, both prime ministers and cabinet members have been removed swiftly when a political or economic crisis has aroused a public demand for change.
“Of course, Surkov is a very competent political technologist, so he will keep his boss alive,” said Sergei A. Karaganov, a dean of the faculty of international relations at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.
Mr. Karaganov noted that the selection of this cabinet was “unusually opaque, even for the Russian political tradition.”
Mr. Putin announced this month that he would skip a planned trip to the United States for a meeting of the Group of 8 because he would be busy finalizing the new government, a task that is technically a duty of the prime minister. Mr. Medvedev told a news conference at the Group of 8 summit meeting that the decision had been delayed because the new government includes so many new players.
“Why did this not happen before?” he said, speaking of the delay. “The reason is quite obvious: It’s because the previous government and the government that worked before the previous one did not change so much. There were well-known people there, who had worked for the government for 10, 12, and 15 years.”
A number of Putin-era heavyweights will remain in the cabinet, including Foreign Minister Sergei V. Lavrov, Defense Minister Anatoly E. Serdyukov and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Igor I. Shuvalov, a Putin ally, will stay on as first deputy prime minister, despite recent allegations that he benefited from corrupt financial practices. Mr. Shuvalov has denied any wrongdoing.
In his remarks on Monday, Mr. Putin hinted that the cabinet would not have an easy time of it.
“I want to wish you success in the difficult situation in which the world economy finds itself, in a situation of uncertainty with many unknown factors,” he said.
Among the first to comment publicly on the new cabinet was the former finance minister Aleksei L. Kudrin, a close Putin ally who was forced to resign after he told reporters he would not serve under Mr. Medvedev. Mr. Kudrin warned that the new government will face “difficult, and somewhat thankless work.”
“There are many capable people in it, but I cannot fail to note that it is a technical cabinet, it is not a breakthrough in government,” Mr. Kudrin said, in comments carried by the Interfax news service. “I have serious doubts that it will be able to cope with all the challenges that face Russia today.”
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