MOSCOW, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's new government will have 17 ministers instead of 30, including Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the government makeup on Tuesday. Mr. Putin said he signed relevant decrees on the appointment of the vice premier and ministers.
The cabinet will have only one deputy prime minister - Alexander Zhukov. A number of ministries have been merged. In particular, the Transportation Ministry and the Communications Ministry have been merged. The Agency for Federal Property and the Russian Fund of Federal Property have become part of the Economic Development and Trade Ministry; the Culture Ministry has been merged with the Press Ministry. The Education Ministry will deal with science from now on, too.
