Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin announces new cabinet

Mikhail Mishustin, the new prime minister of Russia, has formed his first cabinet, RIA Novosti reported based on a Kremlin order.

The new cabinet will include not 10, but nine deputy prime ministers. Andrey Belousov, a former advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been appointed first deputy prime minister in the new government. Yury Borisov, Tatiana Golikova, and Yury Trutnev, all of whom served as deputy prime ministers under Dmitry Medvedev, will keep their posts. So will Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and Internal Affairs Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev.

Among the new vice premiers appointed to serve in Mishutin’s new cabinet are Rosreestr head Viktoria Abramchenko, Federal Tax Service deputy head Alexey Overchuk (who served under Mishustin in that role), Moscow Vice Mayor Marat Khusnullin, and Gazprom Media board chair Dmitry Chernyshenko.

Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky will not be reappointed to his post, which will now be occupied by Olga Lyubimova, previously the head of the Ministry’s Film Department. Medinsky’s reputation suffered due to his controversial involvement in the Russian film industry and academic integrity complaints against his history scholarship.

Vladimir Putin called the new cabinet “very well-balanced” and praised Mishustin for both appointing a number of new cabinet members and keeping some of Medevedev’s government in place.

Mishustin opened the new cabinet’s first meeting immediately after its composition was announced. The meeting is being livestreamed on the Russian government outlet RT’s YouTube channel.