Putin grooms successors from inner circle amidst key defense reassignments
Vladimir Putin is reportedly trying to prepare successors for his regime from among his close relatives and children of officials, experts from the Institute for the Study of War have discovered.
6:48 AM EDT, June 18, 2024
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is grooming potential successors from among his children and relatives, as well as the children of other high-ranking Russian officials.
Putin's plan began with the dismissal of several deputy defense ministers: Nikolai Pankov, Ruslan Tsalikov, Tatyana Shevtsova, and General of the Army Pavel Popov.
Their successors are Deputy Defense Ministers Anna Tsivileva and Pavel Fradkov, with Leonid Gornin appointed the First Deputy Defense Minister.
Anna Tsivileva, Putin's cousin, is the chairwoman of the Kremlin-supported Foundation for Defenders of the Fatherland. In 2019, she was a member of the Council for Trusteeship in the Social Sphere under the Russian government.
Leonid Gornin, on the other hand, has extensive experience in finance. He served as the First Deputy Finance Minister since May 2018 and Deputy Finance Minister from 2012 to 2018. From 2010 to 2018, he also held the Minister of Finance and Tax Policy position of the Novosibirsk Region.
Putin’s recent appointments highlight a trend of placing economists in high positions within the Russian Ministry of Defense. This change was marked by replacing Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu with former First Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Belousov on May 12.
Furthermore, on May 20, former Russian Deputy Defense Minister Colonel General Yuri Sadovenko was replaced by Oleg Saleev, a former Deputy Minister of Economy and Auditor of the Federation Council’s Audit Chamber.
ISW notes that these appointments suggest that Putin is prioritizing the appointment of officials he considers loyal to the regime and economists to improve Russia's defense industrial base.
Vladimir Putin's rule the longest in the country's history
Vladimir Putin has been President of Russia since 1999 and prime minister from 2008 to 2012. In modern Russian history, he is among the longest-ruling leaders. He has already surpassed, among others, Leonid Brezhnev (6,601 days) and Nikita Khrushchev (4,232 days). He has also significantly outlasted Boris Yeltsin, whom he succeeded as president and ruled for under 3,000 days.
Only Joseph Stalin remains ahead of Vladimir Putin. Stalin held power from 1924 to 1953 (until his death), a total of 10,635 days. Interestingly, if Vladimir Putin completes his current term (which lasts until 2030), he will surpass one of the most brutal tyrants in human history and his openly admired role model.
Putin's rule until 2030 would make him the longest-ruling leader of Russia since the 18th century. Ahead of him is only Catherine the Great, who reigned from 1762 to 1796.
