Cabinet's Two Vice Premier Vacancies Filled

The latest appointments to the Cabinet did not alter the number of deputies to the prime minister, rather, they brought it back to the original level authorised back in 2000, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov told reporters.

"The President yesterday accepted my proposal to fill those two vacant deputy prime minister posts," the head of the government said.

He went on to say that the issue of specific responsibilities for these deputy prime ministers would be discussed at further interviews with them throughout today and tomorrow. But the premier said "the general structure" has already been defined.

He elaborated that newly appointed Galina Karelova would handle the welfare issues and Boris Alyoshin, "issues of the real economy." Among other things, his responsibilities will encompass support for entrepreneurship, science and technology, and innovation policy, the premier noted.

Military-technical issues will be something Alyoshin "will by all means deal with," in that they can be part of the industries he is responsible for, Kasyanov added.

He noted that the military-technical sphere is, however, just one of nearly ten areas Alyoshin is to oversee.

The prime minister pointed out that the military-technical co-operation sphere in general is the purview of the Military-Technical Co-operation Commission headed by the President.