Putin Appoints Gryzlov As Russia's New Ambassador To Belarus

Earlier, Lukashenka's Foreign Ministry approved his candidacy.

Vladimir Putin has appointed Boris Gryzlov as the new Russian Ambassador to Belarus. Earlier, Lukashenka's Foreign Ministry approved his candidacy.

The decree of the head of the Kremlin was published on Friday on the official portal of legal information.

"To appoint Gryzlov Boris Vyacheslavovich Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Belarus," the document says.

For the past 20 years, Gryzlov has held various positions in power - the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the speaker of the State Duma, one of the functionaries of United Russia and Moscow's representative in the contact group on the situation in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian media unanimously call Gryzlov a political "heavyweight" who has good apparatus connections, and enjoys Putin's trust. It's just that people of Gryzlov's level are not appointed to such positions.