Who is the prime minister of russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin's new prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, has a reputation for getting things done. During his near-decade long tenure at the helm of Russia's tax service -- whose army of roughly 150,000 employees oversees tax compliance and collections -- Mishustin tripled the amount of money his agency delivers to the budget. Coming during a period of slow economic growth amid sanctions and falling oil prices, those results earned him accolades from the government and made him a logical choice to replace Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who announced on January 15 that his government would resign. As social unrest grew over low living standards, Medvedev's government struggled to carry out Putin's ambitious National Projects, a $400 billion spending program that seeks to boost economic growth. The Medvedev government also failed to meet Putin's May 2018 decrees to increase wages to specific levels for many state workers. "After years of focusing on over-insurance, including due to the risk of further sanctions, the Russian authorities need to focus on domestic issues such as growth and better provision of public services," Elina Ribakova, deputy chief economist at the Institute of International Finance overseeing Russia, told RFE/RL. "An effective manager is needed to make sure that the National Projects move forward and contribute to these objectives." However, Mishustin -- whom Russian state television called the "special force of the government's financ...

When Russians woke up on Wednesday morning, most had likely never heard of Mikhail Mishustin, the head of the country’s tax service. But by the time they went to bed that night, Mishustin had been named as Russia’s new prime minister after a day that included a flurry of proposed changes to the constitution and a series of dramatic shake-ups that saw the government resign en masse. It was the first real inkling of When Russians woke up on Wednesday morning, most had likely never heard of Mikhail Mishustin, the head of the country’s tax service. But by the time they went to bed that night, Mishustin had been named as Russia’s new prime minister after a day that included a flurry of proposed changes to the constitution and a series of dramatic shake-ups that saw the government resign en masse. It was the first real inkling of the power transfer to come , with President Vladimir Putin set to reach his constitutionally imposed term limit in 2024. During his annual State of the Nation Address, Putin, who is on his fourth and technically final term as president, announced sweeping constitutional reforms that would redistribute some of the powers of the position to the parliament and State Council. Should Putin head the newly empowered State Council after stepping down, as some analysts expect, he could wield significant influence over whoever succeeds him as president. The resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and the announcement about Mishustin, a technocrat with littl...

Putin put Mishustin's candidacy forward on Wednesday night, several hours after Dmitry Medvedev resigned along with the whole Cabinet. Just before that, As a career bureaucrat who has been in charge of Russia's taxes for the past 10 years, Mishustin has always kept a low profile and stayed away from politics. He doesn't belong to a political party and in rare interviews prefers to talk about innovations in tax administration. The move sent Mishustin has been hailed for modernizing Russia's rigid tax administration system and boosting tax collection rates. Government officials and businessmen describe him as a professional and effective manager who understands the economy well, which makes him a good fit for the Cabinet during a time when Russia's economy is weakened. Mishustin's lack of political ambition or any political experience indicates that he is likely to dutifully carry out the Kremlin's wishes as the head of the Cabinet — which some commentators point out is especially important in the “transition period” of constitutional reforms proposed by Putin. Mishustin, who has a degree in information technology, has been a state official for the past two decades. His career kicked off in 1998, when he became deputy head of the State Tax Service. Although not active in politics, he has rubbed shoulders or even collided with politicians as a player in the amateur Night Hockey League, in which Putin also plays. Mishustin also is a board member of Moscow's CSKA hockey team. U...