On Wednesday, the Kremlin announced that President Vladimir Putin has named Alexei Dyumin as the secretary of the State Council, which serves as an advisory group to the Russian leader. Dyumin, who previously worked as an aide and one of Putin’s bodyguards, was appointed earlier this year to specialise in defence industry matters after Putin was re-elected for another six-year term. At that time, the Kremlin also mentioned additional responsibilities for Dyumin.
A decree signed by Putin appointing him to the State Council role was published on the Kremlin’s website on Wednesday morning.
Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said earlier this month that many people believed that Putin saw Dyumin as his successor.
Putin, 71, is embarking on a new six-year term and is expected to rule for years to come and there is no reliable information on who he may favour to one day succeed him.
But the name of Dyumin, among others, has long been the subject of speculation among Moscow’s political elite.
Dyumin, 51, was brought into the Kremlin earlier this month after serving as a regional governor of Russia’s Tula region.
Dyumin entered Russia’s Federal Guards Service (FSO), which ensures the security of the Kremlin elite, in 1995 and guarded Putin during his first and second terms. He has also worked as deputy head of the GRU (Russian military intelligence).
With Inputs From Reuters
