Russian ex-finance minister Kudrin joins Putin’s economic council

(Interfax – October 31, 2013) Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Aleksey Kudrin, a former finance minister and deputy prime minister, to the presidium of the presidential economic council, Russian privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 31 October.

A decree confirming the membership of the council’s presidium, which included Kudrin’s name, was signed on 31 August, Interfax said, citing an official document.

Set up in July 2012, the council is run by the presidential administration. It is a consultative body that draws up proposals for the main socioeconomic policy of the country and its implementation, the report said.

Kudrin resigned from the government in September 2011 after a public row with the then president, Dmitriy Medvedev, over public spending. In December 2011 he addressed an opposition rally to protest against the State Duma election results, but received a lukewarm response from the crowd. In April 2012, he founded the Civil Initiatives Committee (http://komitetgi.ru/), a non-partisan think-tank that aims to support grassroots policy initiatives and civil society and hold the authorities to account. Though often critical of the authorities, Kudrin is a long-standing Putin associate and some observers have suggested he could succeed Dmitriy Medvedev as prime minister.