Putin Launches Cabinet ReshufflingRussian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday issued a decree removing Alexander Dondukov from the post of minister of industry, science and technology and naming Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov as his successor.Klebanov still remains as deputy prime minister, said the decree. Putin also removed Alexander Blokhin from the post of minister of federal affairs, national and migration policy following a decision to shut down the ministry. Putin ordered on Tuesday night the abolition of the Federal Affairs Ministry and the distribution of its functions among the Interior Ministry, the Foreign Ministry, and the Economic and Trade Ministry. Under the presidential decree, the prime minister will have five deputies, three of whom will also be the industry, science and technologies minister, the agriculture minister and the finance minister. The decree in fact only brought about Klebanov's new appointment, for deputy prime ministers Alexei Kudrin and Alexei Gordeyev are currently heading the Finance Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry respectively. The other two deputy prime ministers, Viktor Khristenko, responsible for foreign trade and economic affairs, and Valentina Matviyenko, in charge of social affairs, also remain on their posts. Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who initiated the restructuring, said the "government rearrangement," aimed at ensuring efficiency in specific areas, could not be considered complete yet. "Restructuring is a constant process," said Kasyanov, but he noted he is not planning any new structural or staff changes in the near future. |
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