5 Oct (NucNet): Sergei Kiriyenko, the head of Russia’s state nuclear corporation Rosatom, was today appointed as first deputy chief of President Vladimir Putin’s administration, effectively making him Mr Putin’s new domestic policy strategist.
The Kremlin said on its website that a decree signed by Mr Putin means Mr Kiriyenko, 54, will be responsible for formulating a broad range of policies. Mr Kiriyenko replaces Vyacheslav Volodin, who has been named the speaker of the newly elected lower house.
Russian media said Mr Volodin has been widely seen as one of Russia’s most influential officials, a man who directed the parliament’s work and engineered elections.
Mr Kiriyenko came to prominence in 1998 when he became Russia’s youngest prime minister at the age of 35, but lost his job four months later amid a financial crisis. He later served as Mr Putin’s regional envoy before being put in charge of Rosatom in 2005.
Rosatom said in a statement that Mr Kiriyenko’s duties will initially be taken over by Rosatom’s first deputy for operational management, Alexander Lokshin.
