Russian officials and bankers are privately debating three likely candidates to succeed Elvira Nabiullina as head of Russia’s central bank, the independent Russian news outlet The Bell reports. Her term expires on June 24, 2027.
One name in circulation is Maxim Oreshkin, deputy head of Russia’s Presidential Administration — though a Bell source suggested his interest may have cooled. “Oreshkin wanted the job before, but now it seems not so much — things are going well for him in his Kremlin position,” the source said.
A second candidate is Pyotr Fradkov, head of Promsvyazbank and son of former Prime Minister and Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service chief Mikhail Fradkov. His candidacy came up, a Bell source said, because “PSB is now one of the most important banks.”
The third name is VTB head Andrei Kostin — though a Bell source suggested he has little appetite for the role. “Kostin doesn’t like the idea — he’s doing fine as it is. Oreshkin would rather be prime minister, and Fradkov is up for anything. Nabiullina herself wants to be free, but her feelings are mixed,” the source said.
Ultimately, The Bell noted, one person decides who leads Russia’s central bank: Vladimir Putin. For now, sources said, no candidate is being discussed “either in a broad or narrow circle.” An acquaintance of Nabiullina’s told the outlet that she “proceeds from the assumption that she will work until the end of her term without an extension.”
This is Nabiullina’s third term and, under current law, her last. Two federal officials noted, however, that “the law can always be changed.”
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