Minister of Finance
Born in 1960, Alexei Kudrin is a powerhouse of Russian politics. In 1996 he was made Deputy Chief of Boris Yeltsin’s presidential administration. In 2000 he was appointed Finance Minister, a position he held until September 2011, making him the longest-serving post-Communist Russian Finance Minister. Kudrin has been credited with driving the policy of settling the majority of the country’s foreign debts.
Kudrin resigned in 2011 after a public falling-out with Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. Kudrin was reported to be disinterested in a return to politics “in the nearest future”, instead focusing on creating a group to support civic initiatives.