In 2009, an analyst with the electronic news site Slon.ru, Konstantin Gaaze, referred to Igor Shuvalov as "Putin's 'chief commander'" and an "engine in charge of 'it all'".
 The expert noted that for Putin Shuvalov was the "official with the driving force who could get things off the ground", which is why he gets assigned "projects that are economic in nature but with an extremely important public policy component as well as strict deadlines that cannot be breached".
Among these projects, the author named the G8 summit the "ideological support for national projects", and described it as the "finishing touches" on the trilateral Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, which was the first step toward building an economic supranational institution in the post-Soviet space.

According to Slon.ru, Dmitry Medvedev wanted to see Shuvalov as the head of his administration during his presidency.
 However, Shuvalov allegedly refused and joined the Putin government, thus becoming "a kind of a macroeconomic incarnation of the prime minister".
In 2009, an analyst with the electronic news site Slon.ru, Konstantin Gaaze, referred to Igor Shuvalov as "Putin's 'chief commander'" and an "engine in charge of 'it all'".  The expert noted that for Putin Shuvalov was the "official with the driving force who could get things off the ground", which is why he gets assigned "projects that are economic in nature but with an extremely important public policy component as well as strict deadlines that cannot be breached". Among these projects, the author named the G8 summit the "ideological support for national projects", and described it as the "finishing touches" on the trilateral Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, which was the first step toward building an economic supranational institution in the post-Soviet space.
According to Slon.ru, Dmitry Medvedev wanted to see Shuvalov as the head of his administration during his presidency.  However, Shuvalov allegedly refused and joined the Putin government, thus becoming "a kind of a macroeconomic incarnation of the prime minister".
Igor Shuvalov