Before 2020, the Russian public hardly knew the name of Mikhail Mishustin. A low-key politician who had run Russia’s central tax administration for decades suddenly became Russia’s prime minister.
However, even during his tenure in office, he did not become a prominent face of the Kremlin. This may also have contributed to the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin nominated him again on Friday.
In accordance with Russian law, 58-year-old Mishustin resigned from his cabinet on Tuesday, as Putin began his fifth presidential term at a lavish inauguration in the Kremlin. During the following week, other members of the government will also be replaced or confirmed in office.
His re-appointment was expected by political observers, often emphasizing his abilities and low political ambitions. During his previous tenure, Mishustin avoided strong political statements and media interviews.
One of the most effective technocrats in Russia
Mishustin does not stand out among politicians, but in Russian business circles, according to the independent server Meduza, he has a reputation as one of the most effective technocrats in the country. After all, as the head of the Russian Central Tax Administration, he has achieved a number of successes.
What changes in government are being talked about?
With another six years of Vladimir Putin at the head of Russia comes room for change at the highest levels of politics. The ruler of the Kremlin must dissolve the current government and appoint a new one.
Ahead of the upcoming change, speculation is growing about the end of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. They were supported by the sudden arrest of deputy Timur Ivanov.
During his ten years in office, he was instrumental in more than doubling revenues by modernizing Russia’s notoriously inefficient and corrupt tax system. In 2019, this earned him the nickname “the taxman of the future” in a profile in the Financial Times.
He gravitated towards technology since his economics studies, after which he became part of the “International Computer Club”, a non-profit organization founded by Soviet scientists during perestroika. It was this organization that spearheaded efforts to bring corporations such as Intel, IBM, Motorola or Apple to the Russian market.
However, he should have gotten to know the Russian president better thanks to a shared passion for hockey, Bloomberg reported. Mishustin was a member of the board of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation. But he also went to matches in the Night Hockey League (NHL for short), which Putin founded as prime minister and subsequently demonstrated his sportsmanship in it.
The accession of an unknown official to the head of the government four years ago surprised many observers. Nevertheless, the effort to highlight someone who will not undermine the president’s authority has proven to be one of the pillars of Putin’s policy in recent years.
Foreign Policy magazine noted that Mishustin remains a harmless choice for Putin. The president is counting on him to ensure economic progress and do the day-to-day work of turning his proclamations into reality. And at the same time, Putin can count on the fact that the prime minister will not seek to gain power in times of crisis, which could threaten other politicians.
Photo: Kremlin.ru
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
An unexpected choice from other waters
Mishustin thus deviates from the classic profile of men close to Putin. Unlike Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu or Secretary General of the Security Council Nikolai Patrushev, he has no experience in the security services.
He also avoids public statements regarding the war in Ukraine, on the contrary, his predecessor Dmitry Medvedev has become one of the loudest supporters of the conflict in the last two years. Unlike other Russian representatives, Mishustin has not even visited the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia since the beginning of the conflict, The Bell server noted.
Although he stays more in the background, according to Reuters, he seems like a confident speaker, often answering Putin’s sharp questions about government tasks and deadlines in videos of official meetings.
What to expect from Putin after the inauguration?
Russia will have a new government. Putin is ordered to change it by the constitution – in theory he can appoint the same one, but there is talk, for example, of changing the head of the Ministry of Defense. The regime also faces several challenges related to the war in Ukraine.
He is also praised by the state media itself, especially Margarita Simonjanová, the editor-in-chief of the Russian state television RT and one of the main faces of Russian propaganda.
“Mishustin, this is digitization, clarity, modern professionalism, decency, removing obstacles to legitimate activity, innovative solutions, openness to world technologies and at the same time taking care of proper sovereignty… hostility to violent methods of power – in short, everything we need right now,” Simonjanová wrote on social network X.
He has already had a difficult time as prime minister. First, he had to deal with the covid-19 pandemic that broke out in Russia shortly after he took office, and then with the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Mishustin and other technocrats in the government are credited with maintaining a relatively stable economic performance despite tough Western sanctions.
