Yesterday Russian President announced a major shakeup in the Kremlin hierarchy putting him on the road to essentially be president for life. He did this by upgrading the the State Council which he heads and removing Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister. In Medvedev's place he announced that tax commissioner Mikhail Mishustin will become the new prime minister.
What all of the press accounts I have seen ignore is the fact that Mishustin has long been Putin's enforcer over the business oligarchy. As tax commissioner Mishustin has the power to put in jail any recalcitrant member of the oligarchy on charges of tax evasion. He knows where the bodies are buried. Mishustin represents the core of Putin's economic power and my guess he is being rewarded for being such a loyal servant. As an added bonus he might just be useful in helping to put some life into Russia's very lethargic economy. The question is whether it will be attempted by economic liberalization or coercion. Time will tell.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment