Russia's Putin shifts former ministers to Kremlin

Russian President Vladimir Putin named seven former cabinet ministers to senior Kremlin posts on Tuesday, in a move expected to weaken Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev's new government and shift power to the presidential adminstration.

Putin, in a decree issued a day after the government was formed, also confirmed Sergei Ivanov as his chief of staff while long-time ally Nikolai Patrushev stays on as secretary of the presidential Security Council. (Reuters)