Vladimir Putin’s cabinet for his fourth term as Russia’s president is nearly exactly the same as his old cabinet, dashing hopes that the Kremlin would act on an ambitious reform program and seek to ease tensions with the West.
Prime minister Dmitry Medvedev presented Mr Putin on Friday with a list of ministers who had retained the key economic and security posts from the previous government. The continuity suggests Mr Putin, who has ruled Russia longer than anyone since Joseph Stalin, will offer more of the same after winning a six-year term in March.
