Putin Government Reshuffle: Siluanov, Okladnikova Named Deputy PMs

The Putin government reshuffle became official on Oct. 22, 2026, when the Russian president signed decrees naming four deputy prime ministers and a new transport minister, weeks after parliamentary elections gave the ruling United Russia party its largest-ever majority. The changes move Finance Minister Anton Siluanov into a combined deputy prime minister role and install a former deputy finance minister as head of the government staff.

The appointments, published on the Kremlin’s website, took effect the day they were signed. The State Duma had approved every candidate a day earlier, with support from all five party factions, according to the Duma’s own announcement.

Who Got What in the Putin Government Reshuffle

• Irina Okladnikova, previously first deputy finance minister, becomes deputy prime minister and chief of the government staff. She replaces Dmitry Grigorenko and becomes the first woman to hold that post, according to The Moscow Times.
• Anton Siluanov, finance minister since 2011, becomes deputy prime minister while keeping the Finance Ministry. He held a similar dual role from 2018 to 2020.
• Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of Primorsky Krai, becomes deputy prime minister and presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, replacing Yury Trutnev.
• Andrei Nikitin, until now transport minister, becomes a deputy prime minister overseeing transport development and other issues.
• Dmitry Yadrov, head of the federal civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia, becomes transport minister.

A separate decree amended the structure of the federal government so that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin now has 11 deputies, including one first deputy prime minister, according to the Kremlin.

Why the Finance Team Was Strengthened

Russian political analysts quoted by The Moscow Times described the changes as “a major strengthening of the fiscal leadership.” The Kremlin did not publicly explain its reasoning, but the timing coincides with a difficult budget cycle. Russia is drafting a three-year budget while paying for the war in Ukraine, and the economy faces strained public finances, rising taxes and high interest rates.

Mishustin made the budget link plain when he introduced the new team. Speaking at a government meeting, he said the cabinet is “working hard on the budget for the next three years” and must make sure funding for citizens and businesses arrives “from day one,” while also “providing for the needs of the special military operation veterans,” according to the Russian government’s transcript. “Special military operation” is the Kremlin’s official term for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Putting a finance ministry veteran in charge of the government staff, the office that coordinates the cabinet’s daily work, gives the Finance Ministry’s view more weight across every department. Siluanov’s promotion adds the seniority of a deputy premier to the ministry that writes the budget.

A Surprise Exit and a Far East Shift

Grigorenko’s removal surprised observers. Independent journalist Farida Rustamova, cited by The Moscow Times, called him Mishustin’s “right-hand man” and noted that the chief-of-staff job is among the most important in the government. Mishustin’s spokesman said Grigorenko asked to move to another post; his next role was not announced with the decrees.

In the Far East, Kozhemyako takes over a portfolio that covers Russia’s Pacific regions and much of its trade and logistics links with China and the rest of Asia. Trutnev, who held the post for years, may move to another Kremlin job, according to sources cited by the Vedomosti newspaper. The transport ministry opening came after Vitaly Savelyev, a former deputy prime minister, left government following his election to the Duma in September.

What It Means for Russia’s War Economy

The reshuffle does not change Russia’s top leadership: Mishustin stays as prime minister, and the defense and foreign ministers were not part of these decrees. But it signals that the Kremlin is prioritizing revenue and spending discipline as the war economy matures. Sanctions and energy-price pressure remain central to that picture; The Boston Report recently examined whether the Western cap on Russian oil prices still bites.

The new lineup also arrives as Moscow weighs a return to U.S.-mediated talks with Ukraine. After envoy Steve Witkoff met Putin in St. Petersburg, the Kremlin said it was open in principle to new talks next month, a process covered in The Boston Report’s look at the Hubbard release and Putin’s offers to Witkoff.

Featured image: The Russian White House on the Moskva River, Moscow. Photo: Dmitry Ivanov., CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Sources

• President of Russia: Executive orders on appointments to the Government (official decree notice)
• President of Russia: Changes to federal executive bodies’ structure
• Russian Government: Mishustin’s remarks introducing the new appointees
• State Duma: President signs decrees on approved deputy prime ministers (in Russian)
• The Moscow Times: Putin Approves Major Government Cabinet Reshuffle
• Anadolu Agency: Putin appoints 5 new government members