In a cabinet reshuffle postponed from last week, Russia's acting President, Mr Vladimir Putin, has promoted an expert on Russia's foreign debt into the number two spot as First Deputy Prime Minister and demoted two men closely associated with the seamier side of Mr Boris Yeltsin's regime.
Mr Nikolai Aksyonenko, who was first deputy prime minister and was regarded as the main representative in the cabinet of the shady billionaire media baron Mr Boris Berezovsky, returns to his old post as Railways Minister while Mr Pavel Borodin, once powerful head of the Kremlin administration, was dismissed.
Mr Borodin is under investigation in Russia and Switzerland on corruption charges. It is alleged he received payments from a Swiss construction company called Mabetex for contracts for renovation of buildings owned by the Russian government.
Mr Borodin is also the most vulnerable of the group of associates of Mr Yeltsin who became known as "The Family". Mr Yeltsin received well-publicised immunity from prosecution in the first decree issued by Mr Putin following his appointment as acting President. This immunity includes not only Mr Yeltsin but his place of residence and, it would appear from the decree, members of his family living with him.
As all Mr Yeltsin's relatives live in the same apartment block, the immunity would appear to extend to his daughter Tatyana Dyachenko and her husband, both accused of having illegal foreign bank accounts.
Also immune under these circumstances would be Mr Yelt sin's younger daughter Yelena and her husband, Mr Valery Okulov, the chief executive of the Russian airline, Aeroflot. Mr Berezovsky is under investigation in Switzerland and Russia on allegations of misuse of the airline's hard-currency funds.
Under Russian law those elected to parliament may not be prosecuted and Mr Berezovsky man aged to gain a Duma seat in the remote North-Caucasus region of Karachayevo-Cherkessia.
Another seriously wealthy Yeltsin associate, oil tycoon Mr Roman Abramovich, went even further afield to get a Duma seat and its consequent immunity. He was elected by the reindeer herders of the tundra in the single-seat constituency of Chukotka, across the Bering Straits from Alaska.
Mr Borodin, however, failed to be elected to public office. He stood as the "The Family" candidate for the Mayoralty of Moscow, but finished only third behind the overwhelming winner Mr Yuri Luzhkov and the former prime minister Mr Sergei Kiriyenko of the Union of RightWing Forces. Mr Borodin may well become the "fall guy" in at least the Russian section of the Russo-Swiss investigations.
The new First Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Mikhail Kasyanov, was previously finance minister and has in the past been involved mainly in negotiations on Russia's crippling foreign debt. In talks with the "Paris Club" of creditors, he managed to reschedule debt due before 2001, but his negotiations with the "London Club" were less successful.
Mr Putin stressed Mr Kasyanov's appointment does not necessary mean he will become prime minister under any administration he might head after the presidential elections in March.