Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed Kremlin foreign and domestic policy department heads in a shake-up that follows his 10-day disappearance from the public eye earlier this month.
In decrees dated March 23, Putin dismissed Oleg Morozov, head of the presidential domestic policy department, and Sergei Bolkhovitin, head of the international cooperation department in the office responsible for Kremlin property and day-to-day affairs.
He named a former deputy of Morozov, Tatyana Voronova, to replace him.
The terse decrees gave no reason for the changes.
They come amid increased speculation about behind-the-scenes tension between rival camps in Russia's ruling elite following the assassination of opposition politician Boris Nemtsov on February 27.
Putin was not seen in public between March 5 and March 16, further fueling rumors.
