Russian President Vladimir Putin put the finishing touches Tuesday on a Cabinet reshuffle that surprised the nation ahead of presidential elections, replacing conservative Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov but keeping prominent economic liberals and most other key figures.
He also whittled down the bloated top layer of government by combining some ministries' portfolios and reducing the number of deputy premiers to one.
The announcement completes a process that began two weeks ago when Putin dismissed Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and his Cabinet. The timing was seen as an effort to underline Putin's firm hand on Russia ahead of Sunday's presidential ballot -- and as a move to inject some excitement into an election campaign dulled by expectations that Putin will win in a landslide.
The most significant Cabinet change announced Tuesday was Ivanov's replacement by Sergey Lavrov, Moscow's longtime UN ambassador. Ivanov, a holdover from Boris Yeltsin's presidency, had been criticized in some quarters for his comparatively hard-line stance on the West and for offering excessive support to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and other leaders who were considered international pariahs.
Lavrov's appointment "is a confirmation of the pro-Western attitudes of Putin and of his intention to continue this course," said analyst Andrei Kortunov of the Eurasia Foundation.
Despite Putin's efforts to cultivate ties with the West, relations with the US and Britain chilled over Russia's opposition to the Iraq war.
"I think that Putin will try to improve this situation personally and the appointment of Mr. Lavrov could also be very useful because he was very respected at the United Nations," said Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs, a foreign affairs journal.
Lavrov, 53, a career diplomat who had served as Russia's ambassador to the UN since 1994, has been popular among his colleagues and is seen as taking a middle-of-the-road approach.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan "has great professional respect for his competence as a diplomat ... and has also learned to appreciate both his wisdom and his wit," UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said.
Putin on Tuesday reappointed key members of the former Cabinet, including Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and Economics Minister German Gref, who have been key figures in steering Russia's course out of the economic collapse of the late 1990s.
Sergei Ivanov was reappointed as defense minister, as was the well-regarded Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu. Putin also formalized the appointment of Rashid Nurgaliyev, who had been acting interior minister since Boris Gryzlov stepped down to lead the pro-Putin United Russia parliamentary faction.
Unlike the old Cabinet, which had five deputy prime ministers, the new one only has one, former lawmaker Alexander Zhukov. The new prime minister, former European Union envoy Mikhail Fradkov, was approved last week.
The functions of some ministries were rolled into others, reducing the number of Cabinet members to 17 from 30.
Putin voiced hope the reshuffle would help make the Cabinet more efficient and give a boost to economic reforms.
The goal of reducing the number of Cabinet posts is "not to make us all feel bloated with our own importance, but to increase personal responsibility of each minister for his job," he said.
Viktor Khristenko, who had served as deputy prime minister in charge of the fuel and energy complex, was named fuel and energy minister, succeeding Igor Yusufov.
Alexei Gordeyev retained the job of agriculture minister but lost the rank of deputy premier. Putin also named his first deputy chief of staff, Dmitry Kozak, as the Cabinet's chief of staff.
Lengthy footage broadcast repeatedly on Russian television showed Fradkov presenting each of the ministers as Putin watched, the new appointees standing quickly as each name was called.
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