"Documents relating to the structure of the government and personnel appointments have been prepared," Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told President Dmitry Medvedev, adding that there were new names. There were no objections to the structure or personnel: Medvedev said that they had worked on the new composition of the government for the past two months.
The number of deputy prime ministers has been increased. Vladimir Putin will have seven deputies (two first deputy prime ministers and five conventional), one more than his predecessor in the post of government head. The first deputy prime ministers will be the ex-cabinet head Viktor Zubkov and the former presidential adviser Igor Shuvalov; Alexei Kudrin, Alexander Zhukov, Igor Sechin, and Sergei Sobyanin will serve as deputies, as will Sergei Ivanov, who has been demoted to a "mere" deputy prime minister. Sobyanin will combine the post with the position of government chief of staff. "He will form policy to delimit powers between the organs of government and organize legislative activity," Putin said. Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Naryshkin, who headed the presidential administration, has left the government.
Some ministers have retained their posts. Alexei Kudrin (Minister of Finance), Rashid Nurgaliev (Minister of Internal Affairs), Sergey Shoygu (Minister of Emergency Situations), Sergey Lavrov (Minister of Foreign Affairs), Anatoly Serdyukov (Minister of Defence), Yuri Trutnev (Minister of Natural Resources), Alexei Gordeyev (Minister of Agriculture), Andrei Fursenko (Minister of Education and Science), Dmitry Kozak (Minister of Regional Development), Elvira Nabiullina (Minister of Economics), and Tatiana Golikova (Minister of Health and Social Development) will all continue in their positions.
The Ministry of Industry and Energy will be split into two: the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce. The former will be headed by Viktor Khistenko and the latter by Sergei Shmatko.
There are other new faces. Presenting the government, Putin said that two thirds of the government had been replaced. Igor Shegoleev will take over from Leonid Reiman as Minister of Transport and Communications, Konovalov has been appointed the new Minister of Justice, and Avdeev will head the Ministry of Culture. There are two new ministries: the Ministry of Ecology and the Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy, which will be headed by Vitaly Mutko.
The head of the Federal Security Service has also been replaced. Alexander Bortnikov will take up the position formerly held by Nikolai Patrushev.
Vera Kholmogorova
Photo: Alexandr Miridonov/ Kommersant
http://eng.expert.ru
