Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed his niece, Anna Tsivileva, as Deputy Minister of Defense and State Secretary, according to reports from Ziare. This significant career advancement for Tsivileva was formalized in an official decree signed on August 17.
Family Ties in Government
Tsivileva’s new role includes overseeing social and housing support for military personnel and managing interactions with the state foundation “Defenders of the Fatherland,” which assists participants in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. Her promotion follows her previous position as deputy minister under economist Andrei Belousov.
This appointment further extends the influence of Putin’s family and close associates in high-ranking government positions. Alongside Tsivileva’s appointment, Putin has also named Pavel Fradkov as the second Deputy Minister of Defense. Fradkov, the son of Mikhail Fradkov, former head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service and ex-prime minister, had been serving as the first deputy head of the presidential administration since 2021.
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From Psychiatry to Politics
Anna Tsivileva, born Anna Putina in Ivanovo, is the daughter of Putin’s cousin. She began her career as a psychiatrist in the 1990s before transitioning to supply medical equipment to hospitals in Moscow after Putin’s rise to power. In 2007, she married Sergey Tsivilev, formerly the governor of the Kemerovo region and now the head of the Ministry of Energy.
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The Tsivilevs’ business endeavors, particularly their acquisition of the coal company Kolmar in 2012, have attracted scrutiny. Despite lacking experience in mining, the couple acquired Kolmar with the assistance of Gennady Timchenko, a close ally of Putin. The company has since benefited from substantial state support, including budgetary assistance and tax breaks, raising questions about the nature of their success.
