President Dmitry Medvedev appointed a new speechwriter Tuesday amid reports that he wants to distance himself from his predecessor, Vladimir Putin.

Eve Vasilevskaya will replace Dzhakhan Pollyeva, who served as Putin’s main speechwriter during his presidency, the Kremlin said.

Vasilevskaya was an aide to Medvedev when he was first deputy prime minister and previously worked in the press office of Gazprom, where Medvedev was chairman before becoming president.

Media reports said last week that Medvedev was dissatisfied with Pollyeva’s work and wanted someone who more closely matched his style ahead of his next annual state of the nation address, which is expected in early November.

(MT)