The following is an exclusive translation of an article published by Tatiana Stanovaya on Politcom.ru on 16 January 2012.

On the 27th December news came out of the transfer of Vladislav Surkov, from first deputy head of the presidential administration to the deputy prime minister for modernisation. In his place, Vyacheslav Volodin, the previous head of the governmental apparatus in the Kremlin, deputy prime minister and the de-facto head of the pre-election campaign team of Putin has been named. A long-time speechwriter of Yeltsin, Putin and Medvedev’s, Johann Pollyeva has also left the Kremlin. The configuration of authority is gradually forming under the future President Putin and Prime Minister Medvedev. However, it is too early to talk about any definitive downfall or any take-off in the careers of these men.

The transfer of Surkov to the government wasn’t news in itself: rumours had been circulating in the media that “Putin would not work” with the ideologue of ‘Sovereign Democracy’ after his election to the top job. What will be news, however, is when Surkov will leave the Kremlin, and who will be his successor. The resignation of the creator of Russian policy, often considered the architect of the well-established political system ‘Putin’s regime’ and as the ideologue of ‘Putin’s course’, is most probably due to the mass protests last December. The timing of his departure was chosen perfectly given the present political situation. More than that, the political risks for Putin before the election were minimal as all the principal functions of political management had been taken over already by Vyacheslav Voodin.Thus, Surkov’s departure doesn’t complicate, but actually makes governance easier, given the current competition between the spin doctors in the Kremlin and those in the White House. In addition, Surkov and Medvedev have recently become closer, which explains his transfer into the government, which the current president will head, in May.