Moscow, Dec 28 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has appointed Vladislav Surkov as deputy prime minister.
Surkov, 47, will be in charge of modernization issues. He was the presidential administration's first deputy head and has been responsible for domestic politics in the Kremlin.
Surkov has often come under fire from the Russian opposition for being behind the restrictions introduced in the 2000s under then-president Vladimir Putin, including censorship of state media, suppression of opposition political groups and activists as well as promotion of the pro-Kremlin youth movements Nashi, the Young Guards and others.
Surkov, along with new US Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, is also a co-chair of the US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission's Civil Society Working Group.