Putin removes prime minister in favour of ally
The nomination of Zubkov, 65, who oversees the government’s fight against money-laundering, appeared to have caught much of the Russian political elite off guard.
Putin had been expected to announce in December whom he would back to run for president next year. Russia’s two first deputy prime ministers — former Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov and gas giant Gazprom board chairman Dmitry Medvedev — were widely considered to be the leading contenders.
