The president of Karachay-Cherkessia, Mustafa Batdyyev, today sacked the entire government of the republic. The chairman of the republic's government, Ruslan Kazanokov, was also sacked.
No reasons were named in Batdyyev's decree on the dismissal. The president appointed Alik Kardanov, former head of the republic's Adyge-Khablskiy District, as prime minister. Kardanov was the chairman of the government when President Vladimir Semenov was in power.
In his decree, Mustafa Batdyyev instructed former chairmen of the government and ministers to continue to perform their duties until a new government is formed. 
Batdyyev refused to comment on a possible link between the dismissal and the political crisis in the republic in November 2004, when seven local businessmen were killed at a dacha belonging to his son-in-law. 
An ITAR-TASS correspondent has learnt that Mustafa Batdyyev and Dmitriy Kozak [Putin envoy in Southern Federal District] met behind closed doors in Rostov yesterday.

Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow
BBC Monitoring