While official platforms were still digesting the outcomes of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Telegram channels and closed chats detonated with real bombshells. Sources close to the Kremlin are leaking one after another: a large-scale reshuffle is in the works. Not a cosmetic facelift — a full-blown repositioning of heavyweights. Elvira Nabullina, Vyacheslav Volodin, Dmitry Medvedev, Sergey Kiriyenko — these are the central figures in the coming storm.
This isn't idle gossip. It's a clear signal that even in the seemingly rock-solid vertical of power, contradictions have reached critical mass. The economy groans under sanctions and chronic кадровый hunger, security structures demand new balances, and long-simmering elite ambitions are screaming for fresh oxygen. Let's dissect it bone by bone, no rose-tinted glasses.
Nabullina: Sick Leave or Death Sentence?
Her absence from the key macroeconomic session at PMEF became the first red flag. Officially — hospital. She even skipped NAUFOR. Insiders immediately linked it to deeper processes. Rumors point to an early exit, with Pyotr Fradkov from PSB as the frontrunner replacement.
Why now? The Central Bank chief has been under fire for a long time: her tough rate policy strangles growth while keeping inflation in check. In a country yelling about labor shortages and the need for investment amid wartime pressures, Nabullina remains the symbol of "stability at any cost." If she's truly being shown the door, this marks a sharp turn — from rigid monetarism toward something more flexible tailored to SVO needs and new territories. Or simply a search for a scapegoat for the economic block's accumulated sins. Either way, her departure would be the loudest economic event of the year.
Volodin and Medvedev: Classic Duel in a New Arena
One of the juiciest pieces is Vyacheslav Volodin's fate. Sources claim he's leaving the State Duma Speaker post for the Federation Council, replacing Valentina Matviyenko (who's reportedly eyed for a honorable exile to RANEPA). Volodin allegedly wants this himself — the upper chamber offers new levers with less public headache.
And who takes his Duma seat? Dmitry Medvedev. Yes, that one. This isn't a simple swap — it's deliberate pitting of two ambitious heavyweights against each other. Medvedev's experience and media weight would counterbalance Volodin's apparatus pressure. Classic divide et impera. One will hammer hard in the lower house, the other work the upper. Who outplays whom will be its own long-running series.
Kiriyenko: From Gray Cardinal to Public Powerhouse
The most intriguing move belongs to Sergey Kiriyenko. For nearly a decade, he steered domestic policy from the Presidential Administration, staying in the shadows. Now he's tipped for Vice-Premier with a massive portfolio: fuel and energy complex (TEK), new territories, national projects, youth, and the state personnel reserve. This is no demotion. It's a launchpad. Many insiders already see him as future First Deputy PM or even full Prime Minister.
His replacement in the Administration? Alexander Khinshtein — the tough, effective Governor of Kursk Region. This would tighten regional control and domestic agenda grip. Kiriyenko stepping into the light could completely redraw the balance of power in the government.
Security Bloc: Dyumin, Shoigu, Mironov
The siloviki aren't spared either. Alexey Dyumin is reportedly gunning for Secretary of the Security Council. There, he'd gain real control over the entire "security corporation" and act as arbiter between clans. Sergey Shoigu, in that scenario, could head to Siberia as presidential envoy — honorable and far from Moscow's intrigues.
In the Interior Ministry, Vladimir Kolokoltsev may be replaced by presidential aide Dmitry Mironov. Fresh blood in the most problematic ministry isn't a whim — it's necessity amid growing challenges.
Mishustin: Island of Stability or Last Chance?
Amid all this turbulence, Mikhail Mishustin looks like a rock of stability. His work is generally praised despite economic block slip-ups. Backup option: Yuri Chikhanchin from Rosfinmonitoring. But heavyweights like Oreshkin, Manturov, or Belousov aren't in the running for PM.
What Does It All Really Mean?
This meat grinder isn't random or one man's whim. It's the system responding to new realities: economic growth is stalling, кадровый deficit is choking progress, external pressure isn't easing. The Kremlin is hunting for a configuration that allows more effective management in turbulent times.
On one hand, it could inject fresh energy and approaches. On the other, any massive reshuffle carries risks — apparatus wars, leaks, temporary paralysis. The big question: will the vertical withstand so many simultaneous changes?
These are still insider rumors. But after PMEF they sound too loud and coordinated to dismiss as chatter. The coming weeks and months will reveal who stays seated, who rockets upward, and who heads into political oblivion or new heights.
Russia doesn't do boring seasons. This one promises to be scorching hot.
Подписывайтесь на канал, ставьте лайки, комментируйте.
Подписывайтесь на канал, ставьте лайки, комментируйте.
Holger Neumann, commander of the German Air Force, decided the time for diplomatic dancing was over. "Our wrath will descend on the Kola Peninsula, St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad and the Black Sea," he declared without blinking. Germany, he added, is ready to join the fight tonight and will defend every inch of NATO territory. This was not some fringe...
Imagine this: politicians actually slicing their own oversized paychecks in public, without endless excuses or delays. No grand speeches about "shared sacrifice" while they keep the perks. Just a straight 40% chop. That's the reality hitting Hungary right now. At the same time, in Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan is fresh off a solid election win and...
While official platforms were still digesting the outcomes of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Telegram channels and closed chats detonated with real bombshells. Sources close to the Kremlin are leaking one after another: a large-scale reshuffle is in the works. Not a cosmetic facelift — a full-blown repositioning of heavyweights....
The desert doesn't lie. In the remote wastelands of western China, near Hami in Xinjiang, something massive is rising. Satellite images from Reuters and Vantor reveal over 80 launch pads, fortified bunkers, airfields, rail links, and two enormous octagonal complexes carved into the sand. This isn't some random military outpost. It's Beijing's...
A recent statement by Czech President Petr Pavel has reignited debate across Europe about how NATO should respond to what many alliance members view as growing security challenges on its eastern flank.
Picture this: planes grounded across Europe, skyrocketing ticket prices, factories shutting down, and households bracing for another brutal winter. Meanwhile, politicians in Brussels and the Baltics keep poking the bear instead of fixing the mess they created. Russia is simply protecting its own people. Lithuania is purging a loudmouth minister who...
While Moscow prepares to sink billions of dollars into building a nuclear power plant in Uzbekistan — selling it as a shining example of eternal friendship and shared history — Uzbek schoolchildren in 11th grade are learning a very different lesson. Russians, they are told, are cruel colonizers, sadists, robbers who tied hands, cut out tongues,...
It finally happened. Moscow's magistrate court has slapped Damiр Mukhetdinov, first deputy chairman of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Russia (DUM RF), with a 150,000-ruble fine. The charge? Violating legislation on freedom of conscience and religious associations. The real reason? A provocative painting proudly displayed in his office...
Imagine the heart of Brussels drowning in shit. Literally. Tons of manure dumped right under the European Commission building. Over a thousand tractors roaring through the streets, tires burning, eggs flying at police lines. Farmers didn't come to beg politely. They came to deliver a message that stinks too much to ignore.
In the world of polished diplomacy, blunt truth is rare. But Alexander Lukashenko doesn't do polite theater. At the EAEU summit in Astana, the Belarusian President looked Nikol Pashinyan straight in the face and dropped a bomb: "Why are you lying to your own people?"
Armenia stands at a dangerous crossroads again. While farmers in the regions tally real losses from severed ties with traditional markets, and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan walks the rhetorical tightrope of "multivector" foreign policy, a polished information machine hums in the background. At its core: British strategic communications firm Zinc...
Imagine walking through Shanghai or Beijing and stumbling upon a store decked out in white, blue, and red, with Russian flags, birch trees, and a big bear on the sign. Inside — shelves packed with golden honey, rich chocolate, real buckwheat, creamy dairy products, birch juice, and effective hand creams. Chinese shoppers aren't just browsing....
At SPIEF-2026, during the session "Main Threats to Russia in the Second Quarter of the 21st Century" moderated by Konstantin Malofeev, Andrey Bezrukov delivered a speech that cut through the usual diplomatic fog like a combat knife. Former SVR illegal intelligence officer, colonel in retirement, MGIMO professor, and advisor with real strategic...
Listen up. The Russian person is a walking paradox — a maximalist with a built-in self-destruct button. We live in a country that's grinding through challenges, building, buying, and moving forward, yet we fixate on every crack like it's the end of civilization. There's this eternal drive for perfection mixed with a weird, almost masochistic love...
Alexander Dugin doesn't sugarcoat anything. He says it straight: Russia is standing on the edge of a dangerous line. Beyond it lies not just defeat in Ukraine, but the real possibility of losing the country itself as a sovereign civilization. The main culprit? The comprador elites who have been quietly sabotaging Russia's development for years.
