Russia‘s prime minister Dmitry Medvedev unexpectedly submitted his government’s resignation on Friday, allowing Vladimir Putin an opportunity to reshuffle his top team.
The news came on the back of Mr Putin’s annual state-of-the-nation address in which he suggested a radical constitutional shakeup and referendum — a move many considered to be a prelude to staying on in power when he leaves the presidential post in 2024.
His proposals would see a clear redistribution of power away from a potential presidential successor to parliament, which would be given the powers to choose a prime minister and cabinet. Mr Putin also proposed strengthening the constitutional position of the State Council, an obscure body he currently heads.
Mr Medvedev claimed he made the decision voluntarily to give Mr Putin the chance to implement his proposals as he saw them.
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“The changes will significantly alter not just the … constitution, but also the balance of power,” he said. “In this context, it’s obvious [the government] should offer the president the opportunity to make the decisions he needs to make.”
The resignation seemed to take members of the cabinet by surprise. “Nobody knew about it,” one minister is reported to have said. ”They brought us together and announced it just now.”
Alexander Zhukov, a deputy speaker in the lower parliament said he had found out about the resignations only during the state-of-the-union address.
In a televised exchange, Mr Putin thanked his longtime associate for his work as head of the government, before adding that ”not everything [had] worked out.” It was a very public rebuke for a man who had served as a loyal lieutenant for more than two decades. Mr Medvedev will now serve as deputy of the national Security Council, a newly created position.
The dramatic move raised questions over who might take over the presidential chair from Mr Putin in 2024. The prime minister, who served as president over 2008-12, had been considered favourite to succeed Russia’s longtime leader. It is unclear if this demotion from frontline politics ends his chances in totality. But whoever takes his place as prime minister will be seen as a leading candidate for the role.
Much of the initial speculation about who that could be has centred on the former finance minister Alexei Kudrin. The long-time Putin confidante — a man who is closely associated with the free-market and liberal reforms of Mr Putin’s first presidential term — was demonstratively invited to the Kremlin on the eve of today’s speech.
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