The President is also pressing for the power to remove a governor for the vaguely defined offence of non-compliance with federal laws, which could sweep away carefully constructed local relationships at a stroke. A raid by armed police on the offices of Media-Most, the group headed by Vladimir Gusinsky that owns TV station NTV, has been presented as the first step towards cutting down their power. Others interpret the action as a chilling clampdown on press freedom. That could be true, but the move probably reflects the age-old process of rewarding friends such as Boris Berezovsky and punishing enemies, such as Mr Gusinsky. Press freedom in this case might just be a random casualty.
Foreign investors can at least take some comfort in knowing who is in favour in Moscow.
Much of Boris Yeltsin's old government remains in place, which should not be surprising since Mr Putin's rise was orchestrated by the existing establishment. One notable addition is German Gref, who heads the liberal Centre for Strategic Research and who has authored a radical 10-year economic strategy for Russia. Mr Kasyanov opposed elevating Mr Gref to deputy prime minister and disparaged his economic plan. Meanwhile, Mr Kudrin, a more sympathetic face for western investors, claims to have taken control of key finance, tax and anti-monopoly departments, though not without a struggle. Some reform is possible.