Kudrin resigns as head of the Accounts Chamber

The head of the Accounts Chamber Alexei Kudrin on Tuesday, November 29, announced his intention to leave the control department. In his Telegram channel, he wrote that he had submitted a corresponding application to President Vladimir Putin in the prescribed manner. After 25 years of work in the public sector, Kudrin is going to “focus on large projects that are associated with the development of private initiatives in a broad sense, but at the same time have a significant effect on people.”

On November 25, a number of media outlets, citing sources, reported that Kudrin could soon move to “Yandex“. A TASS source said that the decision had already been made and would be formalized on November 30 or December 14. On the same day, Yandex announced plans to split the group’s assets. Part of the businesses, including autonomous cars, cloud technologies, etc., will continue to operate in Russia, but their international parts will be separated into independent companies managed by a company in the Netherlands.

According to The Bell sources, Kudrin will head a new management structure at Yandex, which will also include the current management of the company. Through this structure, they will essentially control the company in terms of making decisions on key issues, the sources noted. According to the publication,

Kudrin approved the scheme for the division of Yandex’s assets at a meeting with Putin last week. Arkady Volozh, the founder of Yandex, turned to the head of the Accounts Chamber for help with agreeing on a deal in the Kremlin, according to The Bell sources. According to media reports, Kudrin, after the division of assets and the transition to the company, may receive about 5% of the shares of Yandex.

The Federation Council will consider the president’s proposal to dismiss Kudrin from the post of head of the Accounts Chamber at a meeting on November 30, RIA Novosti reported, citing a source in the upper house.

The Chairman of the Accounts Chamber is appointed by the Federation Council for six years on the proposal of the President. The same person cannot hold this position for more than two consecutive terms. Kudrin was appointed head of the Accounts Chamber in May 2018. Before that, the department was headed by Tatyana Golikova, who left the post due to her appointment as Deputy Prime Minister. Thus, Kudrin’s first term of office was to expire in May 2024. The media wrote that after Kudrin left, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Alexander Zhukov or head of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes Andrey Makarov could head the department. According to the source RBCno final decisions on this matter have been made, and the most unexpected decisions on the part of the President are possible.