MOSCOW, May 9 (RIA Novosti) – Former Kremlin foreign policy adviser Sergei Prikhodko has been appointed as the acting head of the Russian government staff, the Russian government’s official website said on Thursday.
Prikhodko, who had until now served as the first deputy chief of the government staff, will temporarily fulfill the duties of Vladislav Surkov, 48, who stepped down on Wednesday.
Deputy Prime Minister Surkov, long known as a powerful Kremlin ideologue, submitted his resignation on Tuesday after President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with the Cabinet, at which Putin harshly criticized the ministers.
Prikhodko, 56, worked as Putin’s foreign policy aide during the Russian leader’s two terms in 2000-2008. He then worked as Dmitry Medvedev’s foreign policy advisor when he served as Russian president in 2008-2012.
In May 2012, Prikhodko left the Kremlin for Prime Minister Medvedev’s cabinet as a first deputy chief of staff.