Putin approves minor Russian government reshuffle
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday backed what looked like a fairly minor government reshuffle proposed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
The reshuffle follows a September parliamentary election which renewed the ranks of the State Duma lower house of parliament and comes as Russia is looking for new sources of growth amid a rising budget deficit, higher taxes and relatively high interest rates. In one of the most notable changes, Anton Siluanov will now serve as a deputy prime minister in addition to remaining finance minister, a portfolio he has held since 2011.
In other changes, Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin was nominated to become a deputy prime minister overseeing, among other areas, the development of the transport sector. Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya), was nominated to succeed Nikitin as transport minister.
All the changes are subject to parliamentary approval.
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