Important names from the old elite such as Sergei Shoigu, Sergei Lavrov, Yuri Ushakov, Igor Sechin and Alexei Miller are expected to gradually leave. Meanwhile, the new generation has no memories of the Soviet Union, but fully shares Putin’s authoritarian, neo-imperialist vision, combining nationalism with the pragmatism of global business.
The Kremlin is in the throes of change. Russian President Vladimir Putin is pushing aside old allies, most of whom are now in their seventies, to make way for a younger generation, but not to relinquish power. According to a report by Russian-American journalist Mikhail Zygar for the Atlantic Council, this younger generation is made up largely of the children of current leaders, Putin’s friends and family, including his two daughters.
Putin, who could rule until 2036, aims to maintain absolute control. Important names from the old elite such as Sergei Shoigu, Sergei Lavrov, Yuri Ushakov, Igor Sechin and Alexei Miller are expected to gradually leave. Meanwhile, the new generation has no memories of the Soviet Union, but fully shares Putin’s authoritarian, neo-imperialist vision, combining nationalism with the pragmatism of global business.
ALEKSEI DUMIN
If Putin were to choose a successor, it would most likely be Alexei Dumin, the former bodyguard who saved his life by scaring off a bear, now secretary of the State Council. In 2014, as commander of the Special Operations Forces, he organized the invasion of Crimea. After a stint as governor of Tula, he was expected to replace Shoigu as defense minister in 2024, but Putin brought him back to the Kremlin.
KIRILL DMITRIEV
Born in Kiev in 1975, the “protégé” of Katerina Tikhonova after marrying her close friend Natalia Popova, Dmitriev has a degree in economics from Stanford and an MBA from Harvard. After working for Goldman Sachs, he returned to Russia in 2000 and today runs the $10 billion Sovereign Wealth Fund (RDFI), under the control of the Putin family. He has strong ties to the Gulf monarchies and is a friend of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, organizing contacts and meetings between Washington and Moscow. He aims for the post of foreign minister, but the ambition is considered premature.
MARIA VORONTSOVA AND KATERINA TIKHONOVA
Putin’s daughters with ex-wife Lyudmila, with surnames changed for security reasons but known identities. Rising rapidly on the public scene, their appearance at the St. Petersburg Forum in 2024 was seen as a signal of readiness for important roles. Vorontsova is an endocrinologist and head of the pharmaceutical company Nomeko. Tikhonova, the more active and influential, heads the Innopraktika scientific foundation and guarantees access to their father for a group of businessmen.
BORIS KOVALCHUK
The 47-year-old became head of the Accounts Court in 2024, but this was seen as a disappointment to his father, oligarch Yury Kovalchuk, Putin’s closest friend, with whom he spent the quarantine period. The elder Kovalchuk would have liked his son to head a state giant like Rosneft or Gazprom. Although the post controls all public companies, it was interpreted as a calculated move by Putin to reduce his father’s influence.
DENIS MANTUROV AND DMITRY CHERNISHENKO
Both 56, Manturov is first deputy prime minister and responsible for focusing the government on the war effort. He is a protégé of Sergei Chemezov, the head of RosTec and a friend of Putin’s since the Dresden days. Chernishenko, also a deputy prime minister, heads the government’s executive apparatus. Both enjoy Putin’s trust and are seen as successors to their mentors in key positions.
DMITRY PATRUSHEV
The 47-year-old is the son of Nikolai Patrushev, the former head of the FSB and a key figure in the decision to invade Ukraine. In 2024, his father wanted him to become prime minister, but Putin appointed him deputy prime minister and agriculture minister, a post that puts him at the heart of the power apparatus. Meanwhile, the elder Patrushev was relegated to a secondary role as an adviser on the maritime industry.
ANNA TSIVILEVA
The late daughter of Putin’s first cousin, Yevgeny Putin, and wife of Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev, Anna is now one of Russia’s most powerful women. She is a billionaire thanks to her stake in the Kolmar coal mining company, reportedly given to her by Putin himself. In 2024, after Shoigu’s dismissal, she became the new deputy defense minister, with critical responsibility for supplies. She is likely to rise to the post of deputy prime minister for social policy. (Corriere della Sera)