Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed former deputy prime minister Vladislav Surkov as presidential aide. The corresponding order has just been published on the president's official website.
Surkov served as deputy head of the presidential staff in 1991-2011 and deputy prime minister in 2011-2013. He resigned from office in May 2013.
Surkov is believed to be the major ideologist of Putin's Russia, the one who established the system of so-called "sovereign" or "managed" democracy. Surkov has been seen as the major enemy by the Russian opposition for years.
