0The president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin has dismissed the government. The Russian president has announced it today on TV.
Viktor Khristenko was appointed to provisionally take up the fuctions of the resigned Prime-minister Mikhail Kasyanov.
According to Mr. Putin, this decision is in no way connected to the results of the previous Cabinet activity. The President has estimated the performance of the former government as satisfactory. This decision was adopted in order to outline the position on development of Russia after presidential elections, emphasized V.Putin.

Ekho Moskvy radio polled politicians on the issue:

The decision by the Russian president to sack the government confirms that he is in no doubt that he will win in the presidential election on 14 March, believes MP Vladimir Ryzhkov. "It reminded me of the era of Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin, when major political decisions and decisions on the make-up of the government were taken suddenly and without any explanation. By sacking the government two weeks before the presidential election the president is saying: Guys, everything is clear - I'm going to win anyway so what difference does it make whether I do it after the election or before? He has made it clear to society that he knows what to expect from it and is busy determining the make-up of the government.
Irina Khakamada, a liberal presidential candidate, believes that the sacking of the government confirms that Vladimir Putin is not certain of being re-elected for a second term. "With this step, the president has demonstrated his unpredictability and has undermined the basic political stability that he has fought so hard for. In effect, according to our laws, if he is elected to a second term, he will have to fire his new cabinet. Up to the end of March, the country will effectively live without knowing who its government is, what path will be taken and who the ministers will be. My main criticism is that you can't set out the country's political path by simply firing the cabinet. You first need to reorganize the cabinet's structure and functions and only then can you formulate policy. 
The president's order to sack the cabinet is just part of Putin's campaign fight, says Yabloko deputy leader Sergey Mitrokhin. "The step is, of course, directly connected to the election. He evidently took into account several factors. First, the president saw that the flagrant misuse of the advantages his office provides has provoked a fierce reaction, mainly from the West and partly from the Russian public, and decided to use a completely legal method of attracting general attention in order to gain as high a percentage as possible in the election and ensure a high voter turnout. Second, the risk of candidates withdrawing has arisen and, if this happens, it will have a powerful negative resonance. The news value of this step will exceed that of other candidates withdrawing from the race". 
Boris Berezovskiy, exiled tycoon, linked today's decision by the president to sack the government to the election campaign, although he thinks that the consequences could be unexpected. He doesn't rule out Kasyanov returning to his post. "Sacking the government before the election destabilizes the country. It creates less certainty. As you know, the market reacted instantly to what happened. However, I don't rule out that this may simply be a PR stunt. Maybe Putin will ask the Duma to support the idea of Kasyanov as prime minister. That would turn the situation on its head: you think that I'm creating instability, but I'm just performing a PR stunt and propose Kasyanov as prime minister again".
Communist Party leader Gennadiy Zyuganov believes that the sacking of the government is justified. If the country doesn't have an economic policy, if the party in power doesn't have a real ideology or a clear programme, if there are no real debates during the campaign, then all that is left is to take steps like this, said Zyuganov. He also said that he had predicted that the government would be fired in February.

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