Russia: Medvedev Names Kremlin Strategist Surkov Deputy PM
By Ria Novosti
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appointed on Tuesday the presidential administration’s first deputy head, Vladislav Surkov, to the post of deputy prime minister.
Surkov, who will be in charge of modernization issues, thanked the president for the appointment, saying “this job is very interesting for me.”
Surkov, 47, has been responsible for domestic politics in the Kremlin.
The post of the presidential administration’s first deputy head will be occupied by Vyacheslav Volodin, a deputy prime minister and the government’s chief of staff, presidential spokesman Natalia Timakova said.
Surkov has often come under fire from the Russian opposition for being behind the restrictions introduced in the 2000s under then-president Vladimir Putin, including censorship of state media, suppression of opposition political groups and activists as well as promotion of the pro-Kremlin youth movements Nashi, the Young Guards and others.
Surkov, along with new U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, is also a co-chair of the U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission’s Civil Society Working Group.
