Russian President Vladimir Putin personally knows Alexander Kurenkov well and therefore submitted his candidacy for the post of head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations to the Federation Council as soon as he considered it appropriate. This was stated on May 24 by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“Putin knows Kurenkov personally well, and his choice means that, in the opinion of the head of state, Kurenkov’s personal, official, professional qualities will make it possible to perform these functions in the best possible way (head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. – Ed.),” Peskov said.
He also said that there are no exact plans yet regarding how exactly Putin will present Kurenkov’s candidacy – in person or via video link.
Earlier that day, the committees of the Federation Council during an extended meeting supported the candidacy of Alexander Kurenkov for the post of head of the Russian Emergencies Ministry. Vladimir Putin personally submitted it for consideration yesterday, Andrey Klishas, head of the Federation Council committee on constitutional legislation and state building, said on May 23.
The post of interim head of the department has been occupied by Alexander Chupriyan since September 10, 2021. Before him, Evgeny Zinichev was in this position.
Zinichev died under tragic circumstances during an exercise in the Krasnoyarsk Territory on September 8. The head of the Ministry of Emergency Situations tried to save the film director Alexander Melnik, who also died as a result of the incident.