The Finance Ministry appears to be the main beneficiary of the latest government reshuffle. It is set to shed the close oversight of outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko, a close ally of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. Finance Minister Anton Siluanov is being elevated to deputy prime minister, while his current deputy, Irina Okladnikova, is expected to take the key post of head of the government apparatus. As first deputy prime minister in Dmitry Medvedev’s government, Siluanov secured a substantial tax increase in Russia despite a large budget surplus, with the aim of converting Russian tax revenues into dollars and euros. Those Russian ‘reserves’ are now being used to finance the West’s war against Russia.
On the morning of October 19, following a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin submitted five nominees for new government positions to the State Duma for approval, in accordance with the Russian Constitution. The nominations include four deputy prime ministers and a new transport minister
Irina Okladnikova is expected to replace Dmitry Grigorenko as deputy prime minister and head of the government apparatus. Under the proposal, Oleg Kozhemyako will replace Yury Trutnev as deputy prime minister and the president’s plenipotentiary representative in the Far Eastern Federal District.
Andrei Nikitin, currently transport minister, has been nominated for the post of deputy prime minister, with responsibility for transport development among his duties. Vitaly Savelyev previously held the position. Dmitry Yadrov, the current head of the Federal Air Transport Agency, has been proposed as transport minister in Nikitin’s place
Under the prime minister’s proposal, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov will become deputy prime minister and finance minister. TASS notes that this position has not previously existed in the government. Siluanov has, however, already held the more senior position of first deputy prime minister in Dmitry Medvedev’s second government, which was in office from May 2018 to January 2020. During that period, the Finance Ministry secured an increase in value added tax (VAT) from 18% to 20%, even as the federal budget recorded a surplus of 2.7% of GDP in 2018 and 1.8% the following year. The money was converted into foreign currency and transferred to the European Union and the United States
One of the most unexpected changes is the departure from Mishustin’s government of his long-standing ally Dmitry Grigorenko. As deputy prime minister, Grigorenko effectively oversaw the entire public administration system responsible for tracking dozens and hundreds of targets linked to national goals and national projects. Replacing him with a deputy finance minister could signal a shift in government priorities: the focus is now clearly moving away from monitoring project-management outcomes towards maintaining relative fiscal stability
‘We monitor the implementation of all projects designed to achieve national goals in digital form, in virtually real time. In our digital information system, called the State Automated System (SAS) Management, we can see the deadlines, the people responsible and the implementation status of each project, across all 2,000 projects we are carrying out. We can also identify in advance the risks of a specific measure not being completed. This means we do not have to wait until a deadline passes and then react to work left undone; instead, we can see beforehand where we need to make the greatest effort to deliver on time. In effect, we have created a system that allows us to see, across the entire country and in real time, what has been done, where we are falling behind schedule and where, as I have said, we need to respond,’ Grigorenko told President Putin at a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects in August 2026, describing the results of his rigorous oversight
Grigorenko’s official responsibilities included ‘the digital transformation of public administration and the development of a system for monitoring the efficiency and performance of federal executive authorities’. He supervised and coordinated the work of the Finance Ministry, the Federal Treasury, the Federal Customs Service, the Federal Tax Service, the Federal Antimonopoly Service and the Ministry of Digital Development
SAS Management has made it possible to achieve a relatively high level of implementation discipline, the outgoing head of the government apparatus said
‘In other words, we actually do what we have planned, and we do it for the people. That is why it is important to understand how citizens perceive these changes, the positive changes resulting from the projects we are implementing, and how they assess the results of this work,’ Grigorenko explained. Whether these priorities, centred on monitoring the results of public-sector project management in the interests of citizens, will survive remains to be seen as the new government takes shape.
Another notable appointment is the rapid career progression of current Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin, who demonstrated his capacity for hard work to fellow officials as early as 2011, when he was appointed head of the presidential Agency for Strategic Initiatives
‘Among Andrei Nikitin’s important achievements as minister, I would highlight the organisation of fuel convoys to Crimea during the difficult days of this summer. I was there when the minister negotiated directly with Bars-Sarmat and the Defence Ministry over these escorted deliveries. What made the difference was the speed and unconventional nature of the decisions, including, for example, the decision not to rebuild the damaged bridges across Chongar and to take another route, as well as a number of other things I cannot discuss,’ wrote Alexei Chadayev, a former adviser to the transport minister and head of the Ushkuynik research and production centre
Government personnel reshuffles are a normal part of day-to-day work, presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on October 19. The prime minister, he explained, ‘continues his work and initiates the changes he considers necessary to ensure the cabinet operates effectively’. All deputy prime ministers will remain in their posts until the relevant presidential decrees are issued, Peskov said. Vera Shcherbina will serve as acting governor of Primorye Territory.
Reports have also emerged that Vladivostok Mayor Konstantin Shestakov has become the leading candidate for the governorship of Primorye. The final decision, however, rests with the Russian president
The State Duma is due to consider the nominees for government positions on October 21, 2026.
Putin and Mishustin supported Deputy Prime Minister and head of the government apparatus Dmitry Grigorenko’s request to move to another job, Boris Belyakov, the prime minister’s press secretary, said. He noted that Grigorenko had proved himself a professional and effective manager, overseeing finance and digital development in the cabinet. Belyakov also stressed that Okladnikova had demonstrated strong professional competence as first deputy finance minister. Yadrov had managed to ensure the stable operation of Russia’s aviation industry, Belyakov said. Kozhemyako had worked in the region for many years and knew it thoroughly, he added. Belyakov said Kozhemyako would be able to continue the region’s effective development as deputy prime minister and presidential envoy to the Far East, with a clear understanding of the tasks ahead. Siluanov’s nomination as deputy prime minister and head of the Finance Ministry, Belyakov said, reflects the particular importance of fiscal stability under current conditions.
ORIGINAL: NG/Russian Government Reshuffle Has Strategic Significance
