Ivanov was just the latest of Putin’s old friends to be shuffled aside. Some have suggested people such as Sergei Ivanov are being moved to neutralise any potential spheres of opposition to Putin among his old friends. “The one thing that the new appointments have in common is that they have no political identity and no political weight. When it comes to government reshuffles, internal spats and the battle for control of financial resources appear far more pertinent than public opinion or real political competition. “The government has no executive power, the parliament is not a real parliament and there is no court system.

Source: The Guardian August 18, 2016 15:40 UTC