Russia gets new government in what Putin calls 'major renewal'

Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday approved a new government, bringing in some fresh faces but retaining many senior ministers, according to the decrees Kremlin published on its website.

The new team was formed less than a week after Putin unveiled a sweeping shake-up of the political system, which led to the resignation of his ally Dmitry Medvedev as prime minister along with the entire government.

"The most important task is to increase the welfare of our citizens and strengthen our statehood and the position of our country in the world. All these are absolutely attainable goals," Putin told the new government.

"We have achieved a very balanced government. We have enough people who worked in the previous government, as well as a major renewal."

Tuesday's new appointments could be intended to reboot the government's flagging image and shift attention to Putin's drive to lift falling real incomes and drive ahead with big national infrastructure projects which he hopes will catapult his country into a new economic league.

According to another decree, the positions of new deputy prime ministers were taken by Dmitry Grigorenko, who will also serve as Chief of Staff of the Government; former Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Urban Development and Construction Marat Khusnullin; former head of the Federal Service for State Registration Viktoria Abramchenko, former Gazprom Media board chair Dmitry Chernyshenko and former deputy head of Federal Tax Service Alexey Overchuk.

The ministers who have also retained their former posts include Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Energy Minister Alexander Novak, and Minister of Trade and Industry Denis Manturov.

Maxim Reshetnikov becomes the Minister of Economic Development, leaving the post as the Governor of Perm Krai.

Anton Siluanov was appointed as the finance minister, resigning as the First Deputy Prime Minister.

Putin also appointed some new ministers including Olga Lyubimova as Minister of Culture, Mikhail Murashko as Minister of Health, Valery Falkov as Minister of Science and Higher Education, Oleg Matytsin as Minister of Sport, Sergei Kravtsov as Minister of Enlightenment, Anton Kotyakov as Minister of Labor and Social Protection, Maksut Shadayev as Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media.

The previous government headed by Dmitry Medvedev tendered its resignation last Wednesday, shortly after Putin made an address to the Federal Assembly. A day later, Putin appointed the former head of the Russian Federal Tax Service Mikhail Mishustin as the new prime minister.