Putin wields the axe
Russian President Vladimir Putin today made his most sweeping Cabinet changes since his election a year ago, naming his Security Council chief as the new defence minister.
The changes came amid a growing climate of distrust with the United States as well as signs that Russia’s modest economic upswing is slowing down.
Changes in Putin’s Cabinet, which is made up largely of men from former President Boris Yeltsin, had been expected.
Western governments had long recommended that Russia follow the practice of putting a civilian in charge of the military. However, Ivanov, a longtime KGB veteran in the Soviet era, holds the rank of general in the powerful Russian security services.
In a surprise announcement, Putin named Boris Gryzlov, a leader of the pro-Kremlin Unity party and a newcomer to Russia’s political elite, as the new interior minister, who is in charge of police and interior troops.
Those two appointments mean that Putin has now placed his own loyalists in charge of two key ministries.
