A comment by Michael Rochlitz on the recently announced overhaul of the Russian constitutional arrangements and the subsequent government reshuffle appeared in the latest issue of the Russian Analytical Digest. In his short analysis Michael Rochlitz discusses a rationale behind this unexpected decision of Vladimir Putin’s  and argues that there are both political and economic reasons for this move. According to M. Rochlitz, Putin does not intend to run for another term in office after 2024 but rather plans to retain his power by assuming a role of final arbiter and securing a position of the head of the newly strengthened State Council, or the Security Council, or both. The objective of the cabinet reshuffle and appointment of a new Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin, on the other hand, is to revamp the stagnating Russian economy. The author is however skeptical that the new government will be able to tackle the country’s economic problems unless other more fundamental issues (like the siloviki-driven isolation, tight political and economic control and suppression of the emergence of new talent and ideas) are comprehensively reexamined and addressed.