Moscow - President Vladimir Putin of Russia named government ministers yesterday, introducing new faces to the important finance and economy jobs but leaving key security and foreign affairs posts unchanged.
After announcing plans on Wednesday for a wide-ranging tightening of Kremlin control over Russia's 89 regions, Mr Putin also named seven special envoys who will play a vital role in reinforcing Moscow's voice outside the capital. Regional governors expressed cautious approval of Mr Putin's plans for the regions, under which he wants powers to sack them and to end their automatic right to parliamentary seats.
The new faces in the cabinet included the Finance Minister, Mr Alexei Kudrin, and Mr German Gref as the head of a new Ministry for Economic Development and Trade. Both are liberal economists.