Russian President Vladimir Putin is purportedly mulling the removal of Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko from her post following his inauguration next week, the Vedomosti business newspaper reported Thursday, citing four anonymous sources close to the Kremlin.
Abramchenko, 48, has overseen environmental projects, natural resources, and Russia’s agro-industrial complex since 2020 as a member of Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s cabinet.
Putin, who secured a fifth presidential term in March, is expected to name his new prime minister on May 8, the day after his inauguration. The new head of government will then propose a cabinet of ministers for the president’s approval.
Vedomosti reported that Abramchenko has been on the chopping block since 2023, but her removal has been delayed until an alternative career path can be found.
One Vedomosti source speculated Abramchenko might be named chairwoman of the Audit Chamber, a financial control body whose leadership post has been vacant since late 2022 when then-chairman Alexei Kudrin stepped down to become corporate adviser at the tech giant Yandex.
Two other sources speculated that Abramchenko could keep her post, but with a smaller portfolio, adding that some of her staffers might be reassigned to her colleagues.
“It’s not impossible that Abramchenko will continue to work in a different status within the presidential circuit,” one of Vedomosti’s sources was quoted as saying. The source suggested the deputy prime minister might be appointed to a different post in the Kremlin, but one that maintains her current environmental policy focus.
Putin highlighted the environmental issues in his address to both chambers of the Russian parliament in February, instructing the government to allocate 600 billion rubles ($6.5 billion) to the “Ecology” national project for 2025-2030.
Vedomosti stressed that Abramchenko’s role depends on the makeup of the future cabinet, including the number of deputy prime ministers and whether the policy areas they oversee will be redistributed.
Abramchenko’s spokesperson declined to comment on the newspaper’s report.
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