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Russia's Putin alters cabinet, top ministers may go
MOSCOW, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin announced changes in the structure of his cabinet on Tuesday which could result in one or more top ministers being replaced.
Last March Putin replaced his defence and interior ministers, but suggestions that he would engineer a broader cabinet shuffle have swirled through Moscow for nearly a year.
The president has sharply criticised prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov on a number of occasions, but periodic suggestions that the premier was about to be replaced have proved unfounded.
Putin has dampened down speculation on the matter, saying any change will be calm and planned.
A presidential decree issued after a late evening meeting with Kasyanov said the government would retain five deputy prime ministers, but only outlined three portfolios and changed one of those from its current shape.
The decree made no mention of any single member of Putin's cabinet. But it listed one of the deputy premiers as having responsibility for industry, science and technology -- duties broadly shared now by deputy prime minister Ilya Klebanov and Science & Technology Minister Alexander Dondukov.
Itar-Tass news agency suggested Dondukov's ministry would be scrapped and his duties merged with Klebanov's brief.
But Klebanov, who has overseen the operation to raise the sunken nuclear-powered submarine Kursk as well as arms exports, has been frequently mentioned among ministers who could be dropped in any reshuffle.
CABINET SHUFFLE
Other deputy prime minister jobs mentioned in the decree include agriculture and finance, but the current social policy, agriculture and macro-economic matters portfolios were not mentioned.
Russian news agencies quoted Putin's press secretary Alexei Gromov as saying that the changes were introduced at the prime minister's suggestion.
The decree specifically called for the elimination of the ministry of federation affairs and nationalities, a post currently held by Alexander Blokhin, with its duties to be distributed to two other portfolios. Blokhin's name has also raised as a possible victim of cabinet changes.
The changes in March saw the appointment of Putin's closest ally, fellow St Petersburg native Sergei Ivanov, as defence minister in place of Igor Sergeyev, now an adviser on strategic issues.
Another Putin loyalist, Boris Gryzlov, was named interior minister in place of Vladimir Rushailo, who took over as head of the advisory Security Council.
Rushailo has led talks with ex-Soviet Central Asian states which have allowed the United States to use their airspace and bases in connection with operations in Afghanistan in response to last month's attacks on New York and Washington.
