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Defence analysts say the decision indicates that Marshal Sergeyev will keep his job in that reshuffle, and that Mr Putin is aiming to preserve stability in the armed forces while hostilities continue in Chechnya.
He asked me to tell the members of the cabinet not to get agitated  |
Mikhail Kasyanov
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"He asked me to tell the members of the cabinet not to get agitated," Mr Kasyanov said after meeting Mr Putin in the Kremlin.
"There remains more than a month to the inauguration and we have to mobilise our strength and carry out the required tasks, especially in the economy and social sphere."
Mr Putin remains prime minister until the inauguration, and Mr Kasyanov has been tipped as his most likely successor.
Clashes
In Chechnya there were reports of clashes between rebels and federal troops near the village of Tsentoroi, in eastern Chechnya.
 Russian soldiers hunt for a sniper in Grozny
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Russia's chief spokesman on Chechnya, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, said federal troops stormed the village to expel between 150 and 300 guerrillas.
Reports posted on the rebels' Kavkaz-Center website said guerrillas had launched attacks at various points in the Argun gorge, in the southern mountains.
'Grozny infiltrated'
Interfax quoted military sources as saying aircraft had flown 120 sorties in the previous 24 hours, attacking targets in Tsentoroi and the mountains.
No large rebel formations have entered Grozny, and they won't either |
General Valery Manilov
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"No large formations have entered Grozny, and they won't either," he said.
In Geneva a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said about 1,000 people had fled the mountains for the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia in the past week.
Marshal Sergeyev said he had briefed Mr Putin about the current situation in Chechnya and the prospects for development.
Meanwhile an opinion poll published on Tuesday suggested that only 12% of Russians believe official reports that the rebels are almost defeated.
Just over half of those polled said they were braced for a prolonged guerrilla war.
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