Putin appoints new government

President Vladimir Putin kept Russia's economy and finance ministers in place on Tuesday but swapped his energy and foreign ministers in a reshuffle that trimmed the cabinet's size ahead of his expected re-election. Putin, virtually certain to win a second four-year term in Sunday's poll, slashed the size of the cabinet serving under Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, approved by parliament last week. Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and Economic Development and Trade Minister German Gref stayed in their jobs. Viktor Khristenko, made acting prime minister last month, becomes energy minister with the additional portfolios of construction, industry and nuclear power. Russia's respected longstanding envoy to the United Nations, Sergei Lavrov, was appointed foreign minister to replace Igor Ivanov, who becomes Secretary of Russia's Security Council. Analysts expressed satisfaction that the Kremlin's reform team had remained intact. Putin, quoted by Itar-Tass news agency, said he would make no further changes in the government line-up should he win – as is widely expected – on Sunday.