Wednesday, September 12, 2007

The Next Russian President?



Russian President Vladamir Putin dissolved the government and named a little known government official, Victor Alexeyevich Zubkov as the new Prime Minister. This is what Boris Yeltsin did back in 1999, when he named Putin as the new Prime Minister and then as his successor.

But just who is Victor Zubkov? Google failed me, Yahoo failed me, so I had to go to Russian on-line newspapers for the picture and I hope I got the right one.

Victor Zubkov is 66 years old and was a member of the Communist party. This should not be held against him as anyone who wanted to get ahead in government service had to become a member. He served an 18 month stint in the Red Army in 1966 and 1967. He was the head of the Russian IRS in St Petersburg from 1993 through 1998, and in 1999 he served as a Finance Minister investigating money laundering and other financial crimes. While doing so, he rose to the position of Cabinet Minister till he was appointed Prime Minister this morning.

An interesting note is that his son-in-law is Defense Minister Anatoliy Serdyukov, so he would probably have the backing of the military. In the Russian Quid Pro Quo society, this would also mean that the military would have a greater say in the government.

These are indeed interesting times.

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11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like him

Well, it looks like him, and here is a photo [without glasses] from PRAVDA.

http://english.pravda.ru/img/idb/zubkov-1.jpg

Have a fine Texas evening.

cfs

Jackie said...

A bit of nepotism going on there...

That couldn't be a bad situation for Zubkov!

or, could it?

Guess it depends on the personal relationship between the two.

WomanHonorThyself said...

who knows what the future of the Soviets is.........so many changes.........

Terri@SteelMagnolia said...

*big sigh*

Gosh... who knows what the heck is going to happen 'round here on this good ole earth of ours.
Lots of stuff going on these days.

Paul Champagne said...

tlrb ... seems I haven't been the only one checking into him, there are now plenty of pics.

inspired ... son-in-laws always try to please their wife's dad ... it makes for a happier homelife.

woman ... chamge is often a good thing, wish we knew for sure.

terri ... as I said, interesting times to live in.

Anonymous said...

I've thought all along that Putin was up to something. I thought he was working to keep himself in power some how. Could he get back in office in 2012 (I think)? I don't know. I don't trust him one bit.

Tapline said...

Paul
I've been away for a while, but back or medical appointment....Good post. and good research.....I haven't tried to think this through. Why now!! For what purpose. His time isn't up until next year, I don't think...I thought, once they had tasted freedom the citizens wouldn't accept anything but,,,I think I was wrong. They have beeb told to long what to do and how to think. Sad commentary...stay well

buffalodick said...

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, I have not had a good grasp on what means what. Ther have been puppets before in politics-I wonder what this means?

Blancodeviosa said...

i'm really not for a military rule in government. i think the world has enough problems

Anonymous said...

With so much going on already here in our own wind up to the Presidential primaries and election it's interesting to note that you for one aren't taking your eye off of the World. Good for you.

Paul Champagne said...

debbie ... Putin can't run again (two term limit), so I think he has nominated this guy to keep his seat warm for one term and then he'll be back.

tapline ... welcome back, I hope you are well. It will take time to build this unknown up till he can win the election next year. Putin will endorse him as his successor and people will vote for him. Putin is widely popular in Russia (and Crawford, TX)

buffalo ... it just means that Putin is planning a comeback

blanco ... in most countries, whoever has the backing of the military keeps power. Lucky we live in a society where the military does the government's bidding ... not the other way around.

jenny from chicago ... what goes on in other countries too often affects us here at home. It is always wise to keep an eye on things abroad (especially when the country abroad has nukes).