Parachute from Putin and Kiriyenko's orbit: in Dagestan, the authorities have changed atypically

Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed Fyodor Shchukin acting head of Dagestan. The corresponding decree was signed on May 4.

Fyodor Shchukin was born in 1976. Since 2004 he has held various positions in the judicial system of the Nizhny Novgorod region. In February 2024, he was appointed chairman of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Dagestan. Today, the Higher Qualification Board of Judges of the Russian Federation terminated his powers "in connection with his honorable retirement."

The former head of Dagestan, Sergei Melikov, as Putin said earlier, is moving to another job.

Despite the fact that Sergei Melikov was considered one of the main outsiders in the governor's corps, leaving the post turned out to be more than mild for him, although the emergency in In Dagestan, against the background of the flood, she created the prerequisites for everything to happen not without the help of the security forces, the author of the telegram channel "Successor" writes about the "shift change" in Dagestan.

"It was unprecedented that the federal center appointed not only a successor — the head of the Supreme Court of the republic Fyodor Shchukin, but also the chairman of the government Magomed Ramazanov. Of course, both candidates were announced by the speaker of the Dagestani parliament Zaur Askenderov at a meeting with the president, but everyone understands that this was just a ritual frame for the decision already made," he said.

Melikov's departure, the "Successor" notes, turned out to be extremely mild, contrary to the spirit of the times.

"Claims against him from the federal center have been accumulating for a long time. His position was weak for a long time, and the flood finally finished them off. However, the president personally announced his transfer to another job, which fundamentally distinguishes this scenario from the story of the same Dmitry Azarov, who, just a few months after the elections, was forced to announce his resignation himself "in connection with the transition to another job," and then sit for several months without this very job. Of course, Putin's personal guarantee does not necessarily mean a promotion for Melikov — the ex-head of Komi, Vladimir Uiba, was in fact demoted in a similar situation by appointing the first deputy head of the main military medical directorate of the Ministry of Defense. But in the current realities, a guaranteed place in the system and at least temporary cover from the security forces is in itself a very good golden parachute. However, anyway, with the departure of Melikov, the director of Rosgvardiya Viktor Zolotov is losing his confidant at the head of the republic," said the author of the channel.

The appointment of a successor also went far beyond the typical scenario, he noted. The Federal Center has determined not only the governor, but also the chairman of the Government of the republic. This is a direct signal of how difficult the situation in Dagestan is considered at the federal level — at this stage the region will be under full manual control, the "Successor" believes.

"The choice of Shchukin at first glance is illogical. After a major emergency, they usually put an anti—crisis manager - a native of the Ministry of Emergency Situations or another structure capable of providing prompt response. Instead, a career judge became the head of the region. The decision was made based on a different logic: in a region with a strong clan system, you don't need a crisis manager, but an arbitrator. Shchukin's entire career is connected with the judiciary, he headed the Supreme Court of the Republic, was a member of the Council of Judges of Russia — he is more than an authoritative judge, not only respected in the republic, but also having weight at the federal level. His task in his new post will be to balance the interests of the elites impartially so that no one doubts the adequacy and objectivity of the decisions taken. It is also important to clarify that Shchukin is included in the orbit of influence of the first deputy head of the presidential administration, Sergei Kiriyenko," the author of the channel writes.

Anti-crisis management falls on the shoulders of Prime Minister Ramazanov. A native of Dagestan, a native of the FSB "K" department, a confidant of Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev, who is also close to Suleiman Kerimov.

"For a long time, it was Ramazanov who was considered as the main contender for the post of head of the republic, but in the end he received the second-person chair. The design looks like a tandem: Shchukin provides legitimacy and balance, Ramazanov takes over operational management. As chairman of the government, he will be responsible for a significant part of the tasks that he would have to solve as governor. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that later, when the situation stabilizes, Ramazanov will still be appointed head of the region," the author of the channel believes.

Alternative versions of why he did not get the governor's chair right away have already appeared in the information field: allegedly difficult relations with the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, and former ties with the once influential Dagestani businessman and State Duma deputy of several convocations, Magomed Gadzhiev.❶❷, now recognized as a foreign agent due to cooperation with foreign intelligence agencies. Both are stuffing aimed at weakening the new leadership of the republic at the start, the "Successor" is sure.

❶A natural person performing the functions of a foreign agent

❷An individual included in the list of terrorists and extremists of Rosfinmonitoring