When Vladimir Putin announced constitutional changes in the State of the Union Address, his entire cabinet, including his previous prime minister Dmitry Medvedev resigned. The speculation of Putin trying to gain more power while his term continues was thrown into the air and questions about future probability rose in Russia.
The address suggested that his successor would have lesser powers, a move that hinted at his power as his term ended in 2024. Mikhail Mishutin was not a name that everybody knew as Putin appointed him as the next prime minister of Russia. The law in Russia suggests that Putin can't continue as the president after his term ends this time around.
The question about who Mishutin is and is he the power move that Putin had planned came to the equation.
Who is Mikhail Mishutin?
After Mendedev resignation Putin nominated Mishutin a the next prime minister. The 53-year-old minister had been heading the Federal Tax Service, which he had also reformed. The software engineer worked particularly on digitization which led to a significant change in the number of tax payments in Russia.
The man has a few points that are common to Putin himself. He plays in the Night Hockey League and also is a part of the supervisory board of the Moscow CSKA hockey club. But unlike Medvedev, his wealth is modest in one way and his wife is accused of earning $12.8 million in a span of nine years which has raised several questions as well.
Putin who has been ruling since Yeltsin's period ended might hope to stay in power with Mishutin as the president in the future.
According to the Carnegie Moscow Center's Tatyana Stanovaya, a scholar, posted online Putin does not function in the degree that normal politics would function. She says that "Putin's logic in cases like this has always been to wait until a few months before elections before revealing the name of his successor." Stanovaya also stated that it is not quite possible that Mishutin is holding a technocratic post.
