Putin sacks all Russia's ministers

Russian President Vladimir Putin today fired his prime minister and dismissed the country's entire government.

In a show of political strength, he sacked premier Mikhail Kasyanov and appointed his deputy, Viktor Khristenko, as acting prime minister ahead of next month's presidential elections.

Mr Putin said he would form a new government after the poll, in which he is certain to be re-elected for a second term.

Today's move was widely seen as a long-expected coup against Mr Kasyanov, the sole surviving link with former president Boris Yeltsin among senior figures in Moscow.

Mr Putin had been keen to remove him from his post for not proceeding quickly enough with reform programmes or delivering strong enough economic growth. Mr Kasyanov was also thought to have been too close to the "oligarchs" - business leaders who made their fortunes in the post-Soviet era.

He had annoyed Mr Putin by claiming that 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 president announced his decision to Russians in a live TV broadcast, saying: "In accordance with article 117 of the Russian Constitution, I have decided today that the government is to resign."

He claimed this was not prompted by an assessment of government activity, which he thought " satisfactory" but by a wish to set down how policy will develop after the election.