PUTIN RESHUFFLES HIS INNER CIRCLE
MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin has reshuffled his inner circle again, giving the parliament speaker’s job to his chief domestic strategist, a man who oversaw a vote that strengthened the dominance of the main Kremlin party.
Friday’s move is the latest twist in a wider Kremlin shakeup that has seen many old-time Putin allies lose their positions to younger, lower-profile aides.
Vyacheslav Volodin, pictured, whom Putin nominated as the new speaker of the State Duma, oversaw this month’s parliamentary election in which the main party supporting Putin tightened its grip on the lower house. Volodin replaces Sergei Naryshkin, whom Putin on Thursday appointed as the new chief of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, or SVR.
While Volodin has largely stayed in the shadows, he is considered one of Russia’s most influential officials, a puppet master who has directed the parliament’s work and engineered elections. The 52-year-old has become known for his statement “there is no Russia without Putin.”
The reshuffling marks a clear step down for the 61-year-old Naryshkin. The SVR is considered far less influential than another KGB successor agency, the Federal Security Service, known under its Russian acronym FSB, which focuses on domestic security issues like fighting terrorism, catching foreign spies and uncovering economic crimes.