Kremlin confirms exit of top Putin aide

Dmitry Kozak resigned voluntarily, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said

Dmitry Kozak, deputy head of the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has resigned, the Kremlin has confirmed.

Kozak filed the request “for his own personal reasons,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. He added that a decree formalizing the official's resignation has not yet been signed or published.

Over his two-decade career, Kozak held senior government posts including minister of regional development and deputy prime minister. In the latter role, he supervised preparation for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

In 2020, Kozak was appointed deputy chief of staff in the Kremlin, where he oversaw the Directorate for Interregional and Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries and the Directorate for Border Cooperation, both of which were dissolved by presidential decree in August.

Russian media have reported different possibilities for Kozak’s next role. One outlet cited a source saying he may enter business, while another suggested he could be appointed presidential envoy to the Northwestern Federal District.

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That post is currently held by Aleksandr Gutsan, whom Putin has reportedly nominated as Russia’s next prosecutor general. Igor Krasnov, who currently serves in that capacity, may in turn be appointed to lead the Supreme Court, as Chief Justice Irina Podnosova passed away in July.