Peskov Explained Medvedev’s Decision to Dismiss the Government

The decision on the Russian government resignation was made by ex-Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev amid new tasks and assessments voiced by President Vladimir Putin. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Sunday, January 26. “Against the background of the new, let’s say, assessments given by the president, the new tasks that the president has set, including amendments to the Constitution, the previous government considered it its duty to resign,” he said on the program “Moscow. The Kremlin. Putin” on Russia 1 channel. Peskov added that the government with its resignation “gave the president carte blanche” to achieve national development goals. According to him, to meet this task, a cabinet of ministers with maximum efficiency, dynamics and flexibility in work is needed. At the same time, the new Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, in his turn, had carte blanche to form his team. “Of course, there is a personnel reserve from which this or that candidacy is taken out, when necessary, or proposals for candidacies. But since Mishustin received the offer as the head of the cabinet, I am convinced that he had and still has a certain carte blanche to form his team,” Peskov concluded. On January 15, Putin addressed the Federal Assembly with a message, in which he pointed out the need to improve the demographic situation in the country and proposed to issue maternity capital after the birth of the first child. He also proposed amendments to the Constitution. After that, Medvedev reported to the head of state on the decision of the entire government to resign in order to allow the president to take all necessary decisions to implement the outlined initiatives. Putin thanked the Cabinet members for their work and instructed them to perform their duties until the new government is formed. The next day, the president signed decrees on the appointment of Dmitry Medvedev to the post of deputy head of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, and the head of the Federal Tax Service Mikhail Mishustin as chairman of the government. Medvedev also retained the post of chairman of the United Russia party. On January 21, Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the new government’s structure. Maxim Oreshkin, who held the post of Minister of Economic Development, former head of the Ministry of Culture Vladimir Medinsky, Maxim Topilin, who headed the Ministry of Labor, and a number of other ministers and deputy prime ministers did not retain their posts in the new government.