Being Named for a Candidate for Russian Leader: Alexei Dyumin Reported to President Putin Every Day, US-UK Sanctioned

Alexei Dyumin with President Vladimir Putin. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru)

JAKARTA - The appointment of Alexei Dyumin as Secretary of the State Advisory Council by President Vladimir Putin has revived old rumors that he would be Russia's future leader.

"The Russian elite is excited about Dyumin's appointment as secretary of the State Council," said Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser and supporter of President Putin, via Telegram, quoted by Reuters, May 30.

"This is seen as confirmation that Dyumin is the future president of Russia, Putin's choice," Markov continued, adding that this had long been a rumor.

Before occupying his current position, Alexei Dyumin held a number of important positions, starting from former deputy defense minister, deputy head of the GRU military intelligence service, to governor of the Tula region, which is a major center for military industry, quoted from The Moscow Times.

Born in Kursk on August 28 1972, Dyumin, who is married and has a son, is more famous in Russian intelligence, military and political circles.

A recipient of the country's highest honor, Hero of Russia, Dyumin entered Russia's Federal Guard Service, which ensures the security of the Kremlin elite, in 1995 and guarded President Putin during his first and second terms.

Alexei Dyumin with President Putin during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. (Wikimedia Commons/The Presidential Press and Information Office)

In 2016 he told the Kommersant newspaper that, as one of Putin's bodyguards, he once used his gun to scare away a bear at one of the president's mountain residences while the Russian leader was resting.

"I am part of a group of officers who guarantee the security of the president everywhere, in Russia and abroad," Dyumin said.

"Every morning starts with a report to the president about operational reports. You have to have information about the region, about emergency situations. Sometimes I have to give instructions to a minister, give tasks to regional heads," explained Dyumin.

Dyumin, who once played ice hockey with President Putin, is on the sanctions list of Western countries.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Dyumin in 2018, saying he had headed a Special Operations Force that "played a key role in Russia's annexation of Crimea."

His name also appears on a British sanctions list that calls for setting up a drone training school by 2022 for operators carrying out missions in Ukraine.

"Therefore, there are reasonable grounds to suspect that Dyumin has been involved and continues to be involved in efforts to destabilize Ukraine or undermine or threaten Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence," the UK Treasury said.

When asked about Dyumin's appointment, the Kremlin said it was part of a rotation, in which he replaces 72-year-old Igor Levitin, saying he would consider how the State Council would function. President Putin chairs the council.