Key cabinet jobs for Putin’s allies

The incoming Russian prime minister, Vladimir Putin (photo), has re-appointed most key ministers. He also took some high-level figures from his previous Kremlin team with him, to his new post.

Dmitry Medvedev, Putin’s successor who became president last wednesday, quickly approved the names on Monday, during a formal meeting.

Mr Putin said he would re-appoint Alexei Kudrin as finance minister. He is seen by markets as a guarantor of Russia’s free-market policies.

Sergei Lavrov will stay as foreign minister.

The former prime minister, Viktor Zubkov, remains in the cabinet. He will be one of two first deputy prime ministers. The other deputy prime minister is Igor Shuvalov. He was Putin’s top economic policy aide at the Kremlin.

There are a few changes : the removal of Leonid Reiman, the telecommunications minister, the splitting into two seperate entities of the industries and energy ministry, and the creation of two new ministries, one for sport and tourism, and another for ecology.

Under Putin’s administration, Sergei Sobyanin headed the Kremlin administration. He follows his former boss to become government chief of staff.

He will be replaced by Sergei Naryshkin, who was previously a deputy prime minister and head of a state shipbuilding conglomerate.

Former KGB spy

Nikolai Patrushev has been moved by Dmitry Medvedev. He will go from heading the FSB, Russia’s main domestic spy service, to run the country’s Security Council. Mr Patrushev’s successor at the FSB will be the previous FSB deputy director :Alexander Bortnikov.

Seen as one of Russia’s most powerful figures, Igor Sechin, Putin’s chief of staff at the Kremlin, will become one of five men with the rank of deputy prime minister, along with Sergei Ivanov, a close Putin ally and former KGB spy.

Igor Sechin is also head of the oil giant Rosneft. In Putin’s entourage, he was widely seen as a hardliner and one of the architects of the controversial legal assault against Yukos oil company.

Earlier Monday, state television showed Putin proposing the names to Medvedev, during a brief meeting.

“As we agreed, the necessary documents concerning the structure of the government and the personal appointments of the deputies of the prime minister and federal ministers are ready” said Vladimir Putin.

As the two men had been working on the government structure for the past two months, Russia’s new president replied that he would approve all necessary decisions.

Under Russia’s constitution, the president must approve the cabinet names proposed by the prime minister, before they are final.