Putin fires Russia's Prosecutor General Ustinov

Moscow, June 2: Russian Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov has been removed from his post by the Federation Council following a recommendation by President Vladimir Putin.

Under the law, the Federation Council, the upper house of Russian parliament, is entitled to remove the Prosecutor General on the recommendation of the Russian President.

Federal Council speaker Sergei Mironov told Itar-Tass news agency that Putin had presented the proposal to dismiss Ustinov from his post yesterday.

So far, the President has not appointed a new Prosecutor General.

First Deputy Prosecutor General Yuri Biryukov will discharge the duties of Prosecutor General until a new candidate is appointed.

Mr Ustinov's dismissal was a part of Putin's plan to make sweeping personnel changes, a source in the Kremlin told RIA Novosti news agency.

''Law-enforcement bodies will continue the fight against crime and corruption, maintaining law and order in the country,'' he added.

Experts said presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District, Dmitry Kozak was the most likely choice to succeed General Ustinov.

After Mr Putin's state of the nation address on May 10, which highlighted the fight against corruption as a key issue, a number of senior security officers from the Federal Security Service (FSB) and high-ranking officials from the Federal Customs Service were fired as investigators launched a major probe into corruption.

Reuters adds: Officials said general Ustinov -- linked to the so-called ''siloviki'' hardliners -- had himself asked to be relieved of his duties but no detailed explanation was offered.

Some analysts linked the move to a turf war between the ''siloviki'' -- a group of officials with security or military backgrounds that favour tough central rule -- and a more liberal faction led by First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

''(Ustinov's removal) is the latest skirmish in the battle inside Mr Putin's entourage,'' said analyst Stanislav Belkovsky. ''In this case Mr Medvedev has delivered a serious blow (to the rival faction).'' The rivalry between the factions has intensified because Mr Putin, limited by law to two terms, has to step down in 2008. The factions are competing to have their candidate anointed as Putin's heir apparent, say the analysts.

The burly chief prosecutor became a household name in Russia when his office oversaw Khodorkovsky's prosecution on fraud and tax evasion charges.

Once Russia's richest man, the tycoon is serving eight years in a Siberian prison.

The campaign against Khordokovsky and his company alarmed markets and prompted concerns that the Kremlin was using the judicial system to bring down its opponents.

Anti-graft Campaign

Lawmakers in the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament voted by 142 to none to remove Mr Ustinov from his post, though it was clear even some of Putin's closest supporters were caught off balance by the news.

''There must have been good reasons to do this,'' Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov, a close confidant, was quoted as saying by news agencies as saying.

The vote was added to the chamber's agenda at the last minute after lawmakers received a letter from Putin asking them to remove the chief prosecutor.

Other analysts linked Mr Ustinov's departure to a drive by Mr Putin to clamp down on corruption.

Mr Putin told his subordinates this month they had to redouble their efforts to stamp out graft: a drive in which the prosecutor's office is likely to play a central role.

Russian news agencies floated two names as possible successors to Mr Ustinov -- Mr Dmitry Kozak and Mr Alexander Konovalov.

A tough-talking former Kremlin chief of staff close to Mr Putin, Mr Kozak is in charge of bringing order to the violent North Caucasus region. Mr Konovalov, a former prosecutor, is currently Mr Putin's envoy to Volga region.

UNI