Former Kremlin ideologue Vladislav Surkov, who resigned from the Russian government in May, has been appointed a presidential aide, the Kremlin press service said on Friday.

      The Kremlin's statement did not specify which areas Surkov is going to oversee, but presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov later confirmed that he would be responsible for social and economic issues in the breakaway Georgian provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, taking over the post previously occupied by Tatyana Golikova. In her turn, Golikova was appointed as the head of Russia’s Audit Chamber.

      Considered one of the architects of the “power vertical” political system ushered in under President Vladimir Putin, Surkov, 49, resigned as deputy prime minister in May shortly after sharply criticizing Russia’s powerful Investigative Committee over probes into alleged corruption at the Skolkovo innovations hub.

      Before joining the government, Surkov had served some 11 years in the presidential administration, giving rise to him becoming known as Russia's "gray cardinal."