Kremlin spokesman Dmitriy Yakushkin said on Monday that President Boris Yeltsin's decision to reshuffle the presidential administration had taken him by surprise.

Yakushkin said he believed Prime Minister Yevgeniy Primakov had also been kept in the dark and rejected suggestions that Tatyana Dyachenko, Yeltsin's daughter, had been consulted about the reshuffle.

Yakushkin said the personnel changes did not herald any radical changes in the work of his administration and he rejected a suggestion that Yeltsin had offered Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Vladimir Putin the job of chief of staff before appointing Nikolay Bordyuzha to the post.

The following are excerpts from an interview with Yakushkin, broadcast on Russian NTV's "Hero of the Day" programme on Monday.

First of all, I would like to ask you about your personal impression.

Was it a surprise for you or had you known about this for some time? No, I did not know about this.

Today has been a difficult day indeed.

I work with the president and know his schedule, therefore if he leaves home earlier than planned and is to arrive in the Kremlin earlier too, I already know this and, naturally, leave home earlier and come to the Kremlin earlier.

So I was ready since morning.

This means that when you came to work in the morning you - No, I already realized that something unusual was taking place because the president is now in the Central Clinical Hospital.

He returned there from the Kremlin.

And it was from the CCH that he came to the Kremlin this morning to conduct this meeting and carry out this reshuffle.

Of course, I anticipated certain events.

Still, were you surprised by the number of resignations? Yes, naturally I was, but I cannot say that this could not have been foreseen. ... There have been reports that on Sunday the only people Yeltsin sought advice from with regard to these sackings were Valentin Yumashev and Tatyana Dyachenko.

Is it true? This is not true. ... He does not seek advice, especially on matters of this kind.

He met Valentin Yumashev on Saturday.

As regards Tatyana Borisovna Dyachenko, who is an aide in the administration, he sees her quite often because she is his daughter.

However, he did not discuss this issue with her.

Who did he discuss it with then? I think he took the decision himself.

Naturally, of course, the new leader of the administration knew what was going on before it happened, as he said in an interview on your channel. ... And Prime Minister Primakov, the state's second-in-command? Didn't he seek his advice or let him in on his plans? As far as I know, Boris Nikolayevich told Yevgeniy Maksimovich of today's final decisions this morning after he had held the meeting - because first he had a meeting with Valentin Yumashev and Nikolay Bordyuzha and then he got the leaders of his administration together. ... What specific tasks is Bordyuzha faced with? Are they all in line with those the presidential administration has in its arsenal or are they special ones? They are the same, no radical changes, the administration still has to do its political work.

As before, the administration is the main aide to the president in his work.

This is his staff.

The staff he can rely on.

Besides, today's reshuffle happened as far I understand it, because the president has confidence in the people who are left.

He does not make distinctions.

In no way should one think that those who left are bad people and those who stayed are good.

It's just that tasks change, the situation changes and new approaches are required. ... Is it true, they say that at first this post was to be given not to Bordyuzha but to Putin ? I don't have this information. ...