Putin sacks prime minister and cabinet ahead of vote

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin sacked Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and his Cabinet yesterday, saying he made the move in order to reshuffle the government ahead of next month’s presidential election.

He went on TV to say: “This decision bears no relation to any assessment of the performance of the former composition of the government.

“It was dictated by my desire to once again delineate my position on the issue of what development course the country will take after March 14, 2004.”

However, speculation had been rife for months that Mr Kasyanov, the last major government figure from Boris Yeltsin’s years as president, was on his way out.

Mr Kasyanov had said the intense government probe of the Yukos oil giant, including the jailing of its head Mikhail Khodorkovsky, had set a bad precedent for the country’s recovering economy.

The Yukos probe is believed to have been Kremlin-driven and Mr Kasyanov’s criticisms likely irritated Putin.

The sacking of the prime minister also means the dismissal of the rest of the government ministers, although any of them potentially could be re-appointed.

Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko was named acting prime minister.