Russia’s ruling party has unanimously backed President Vladimir Putin’s surprise choice for prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin – a man with nearly no political profile.

Mr Mishustin’s elevation is part of a sweeping shake-up of the political system announced by Mr Putin on Wednesday, which led to the resignation of Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister along with his government.

The changes are widely seen as giving Mr Putin (67) scope to extend his grip on power once he leaves the presidency in 2024. He has dominated his country’s politics, as president or as prime minister, for two decades.

Mr Mishustin (53) ran the country’s tax service where he won praise for dramatically improving tax collection.

Please log in or register with Independent.ie for free access to this article.

Log In

New to Independent.ie? Create an account

Critics have long accused Mr Putin, a former KGB officer, of plotting to stay on in some capacity after his term ends and continue to wield power over the world’s largest nation, which is also one of its two leading nuclear powers.

The constitutional reform proposals, which he suggested should be put to a referendum, would give him the option of taking an enhanced role as prime minister after 2024 or a new role as head of the State Council, an official body he said he was keen to build up. Mr Putin could even become speaker of a new, supercharged parliament.

Opposition politician Leonid Volkov said it looked as though Mr Putin was digging in.

“It’s clear to everyone that everything is going exclusively toward setting Putin up to rule for life,” he wrote on social media.

Source: Read Full Article