There is talk in the Kremlin of a successor to Putin: who is Alexei Dyumin and why is he being touted as the frontrunner?
His name has been mentioned for several years now as one of the most likely contenders for the presidency, although the Kremlin has not officially confirmed any plans regarding the handover of power.
Despite this, analysts point out that it is Dyumin who has significantly strengthened his position within the Russian power structure in recent years and is part of Putin’s inner circle.
Who is Alexei Dyumin?
Alexei Dyumin was born in 1972 in Kursk. He began his career in the Russian Federal Security Service, where he worked for a long time in the presidential security service and was a member of Vladimir Putin’s personal security detail.
Dyumin subsequently transferred to military service. He worked within the structures of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, was one of the heads of the Special Operations Forces, and in 2015 was appointed Deputy Minister of Defence of Russia.
In 2016, Putin appointed him governor of the Tula Region, where Dyumin served for almost eight years. In May 2024, he returned to the Kremlin, becoming an aide to the Russian president and secretary of the State Council of the Russian Federation — the body that coordinates cooperation between federal and regional authorities.
What role did Dyumin play during the war against Ukraine?
According to Ukrainian sources, Alexei Dyumin was one of the Russian security officials involved in the operation to seize Crimea in 2014. He is also linked to organising the escape to Russia of the then President of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych. For this operation, Dyumin was awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
After the start of the full-scale war, his political influence only grew. Following the Wagner Group mutiny in 2023, it was Dyumin whom Russian and Western media named as one of the key participants in the negotiations between the Kremlin and Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Why is Dyumin considered Putin’s successor?
For several years now, political analysts have regarded Alexei Dyumin as one of the most likely contenders for the role of Russia’s future leader. This is primarily due to his long-standing personal closeness to Putin, his work in the security services, and the support of the so-called ‘security bloc’ within the Russian government.
It is believed that the security services in particular could become the main pillar of support for a potential successor in the event of a change of power in the Kremlin. At the same time, other possible candidates are also mentioned in Russian political circles, but it is Dyumin who regularly features among the most influential.
Despite the lively discussions, there are currently no signs of a imminent transfer of power in Russia. Vladimir Putin himself has repeatedly made it clear that he has no plans to step down from the presidency of his own accord, and any talk of his successor remains, for the time being, at the level of speculation and assessments by political commentators.
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