Moscow, Nov 08: President Vladimir Putin has removed the Minister responsible for rebuilding Chechnya, two weeks after a deadly theatre siege by armed separatists, and put in his place the region's pro-Moscow Prime Minister.
Putin yesterday promoted Stanislav Ilyasov to Minister with responsibility for developing Chechnya as the Russian authorities raised to 128 the death toll among hostages held in the Moscow theatre by Chechen militants. Almost all died from the effects of gas used in storming the building to subdue the gunmen. Putin's decrees said Ilyasov, who since January 2001 has been Prime Minister of a government committed to reconstructing the mountainous Southern region, replaced Vladimir Yelagin.
The departing Minister was ''transferred to another post'', a usual euphemism for dismissal.



An Energy specialist with a long civil service record, Ilyasov told Ekho Moskvy radio: ''the scale of the tasks are vast. We have to implement all measures set down in the federal programme of developing Chechnya.''



Putin has promoted Chechnya's local administration, headed by former clergyman Akhmad Kadyrov, as the sole way to rebuild the region after two military drives to crush separatists.



Plans for Chechnya envisage a new Constitution and Presidential elections.



Chechens cooperating with the administration, as well as local policemen, are frequent targets of separatist gunmen, while Russian security forces come under daily attack.



Putin has vowed to eliminate the separatists. But this week he said the siege had shown the need for ''new approaches'' and ruled out mass indiscriminate measures by security forces, frequently accused of excesses.


Bureau Report