What Happened 

One week after Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev's abrupt resignation, there's a new Cabinet in Moscow — albeit with plenty of familiar faces. Many of the most important positions in new Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin's Cabinet are holdovers from the Medvedev era, as there is only one new "key member" (President Vladimir Putin makes appointments to such posts directly): Justice Minister Konstantin Chuychenko. Some notable positions, however, are now in new hands. Maxim Reshetnikov has become the economic development minister, while Andrei Belousov is now first deputy prime minister, replacing Anton Siluanov — who retains his post as finance minister but will now answer to Belousov. Mishustin has also ordered his Cabinet to review the federal state budget for 2020-2022 and prepare amendments by Feb. 11. As part of the changes, the government is expected to increase spending to boost Russia's growth rate and living standards.

Why It Matters

The few major changes to the Cabinet will affect the economy, primarily. The appointment of Belousov as first deputy prime minister, for one, could be an indicator of things to come given that he is a former presidential adviser on the economy, as well as an open proponent of interventionist policies like increased government spending. The adoption of such policies would mark a significant departure from previous Russian governments that have restrained spending and preached economic caution. 

The shift, however, raises questions as to whether Russian institutions can effectively implement such a spending spree. So far, large public spending efforts such as the so-called "National Projects" to improve infrastructure, housing, health care and more have failed to achieve their intended impact. Bureaucratic inefficiencies have restricted previous spending initiatives, limiting their impact on Russia's economic growth. Already, Mishustin's new team has vowed to eliminate bureaucratic hurdles to spending, but its moves to cut down on Russia's prodigious amounts of red tape could distract it from the actual matter of increasing expenditures.

Context

Mishustin and his government have taken office at a critical time for Russia. They will have to guide the country through a popular vote on constitutional amendments to overhaul Russia's governance structure, as well as parliamentary elections in 2021 that will test the ruling United Russia party's strength. Citizens have expressed concerns about economic underperformance and dwindling purchasing power in recent elections, suggesting that a big stimulus agenda could attract the popular support that Putin needs to push through his constitutional changes and secure United Russia's position in parliament before the ostensible end of his last presidential term in 2024.