With a stunted economy and citizens increasingly concerned about the decline in living standards, the new Russian Prime Minister, Mikhail Mishustin , opened this Thursday promising to boost the industry, increase the income of the population and modernize the economy. The until today head of the Federal Tax Service received the support of Parliament. His appointment is perceived as the first step of the political and constitutional reorganization undertaken by Vladimir Putin to maintain his power when he left the presidency in 2024. "It is necessary to distinguish what really hinders the growth of wages," said Mishustin in the lower house (state Duma), where he has obtained 383 votes in favor, none against and 41 abstentions, those of the Communist Party. His first intervention, before being endorsed by the deputies and focused almost exclusively on economic matters, his specialty, has been a sample of what will be his master lines. Mishustin is a technocrat with a cunning reputation and who has carved out an image of effectiveness that has earned him the praise of different power groups. Russia, according to its president's geostrategic guideline , has spent hundreds of billions of euros in modernizing and revitalizing the defense industry. Meanwhile, 80% of families have difficulty reaching the end of the month, according to data from the state statistical agency Rosstat. "People need to feel a real change now for the better," said Mishustin, who said he would work to increase real incomes, which have been falling since 2014 in an economy weighed down by international sanctions and the drop in the price of hydrocarbons. The loss of purchasing power of the Russians and the desire for reforms are not the breeding ground desired by Putin to initiate a transition of power. The president must leave the position within four years and before it has been proposed he carries out a thorough reform and that is noticed in the economy. Not only to not leave a bad memory, but also because social unrest is not an ideal base for an eventual movement that allows you to remain in a political position with great influence. The prime minister, who said he would present his team of ministers in the coming days, promised to keep inflation at 4% and "regain lost confidence between authorities and companies." "We must stimulate the growth of investments," he insisted. Mishustin has forged his career in state agencies and Putin hopes that, with him in charge, Russia will come out of economic stagnation without losing the long-awaited international influence. The leader faces the added challenge of fulfilling another of Putin's key goals: fighting population decline and poverty. The Russian president on Wednesday promised important aids and benefits for families in another step to stimulate birth. Programs with fiscal cost in a budget that is already very limited and in which it will have to be scratched where possible. "Russia's fate, its historical perspectives, depend on how many of us there are," he said. Putin has set the goal of raising the birth rate from 1.5 children per woman to 1.7 by 2024. DOUBTS ABOUT MISHUSTIN'S HERITAGE MRS Mikhail Mishustin, the new prime minister, is an economist and tax expert, 57. It is emerging as an effective figure for a delicate moment in Russia, in which the radical reorganization designed by Putin has already begun. And while Vladimir Putin's supporters rushed to praise Mishustin, opponents criticized the appointment of the hitherto head of the Russian tax office, who has been one of the richest officials in the country, according to specialized media. The Proekt research project revealed that until shortly before his appointment, which surprised most of the political elite, he was the owner of an elegant apartment in the center of Moscow and of properties worth about nine million euros. The owner is now the State, according to property records; a common movement for properties declared secret. “Mishustin has been a 'servant of citizenship' for 20 of the past 22 years. So why is he so damn rich? ”Said Alexi Navalni, the anti-corruption blogger and main figure of the extra-parliamentary opposition. Navalni and his team pointed out the opacity in the business of Mishustin's wife, who is listed as an “entrepreneur” and who although she has no companies in her name has earned about 11 million euros in the last nine years.