Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the new government structure, the Kremlin press service said.
Russian Prime Minister will have ten deputy prime ministers, or by one more than in the previous cabinet, according to the decree.
Thus, the ten Deputy Prime Ministers will include First Deputy Prime Minister/ Finance Minister, Deputy Prime Minister/ Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian President in the Far-Eastern Federal District, and Deputy Prime Minister/ Chief of the Central Office of the Cabinet.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev presented yesterday his vision of the structure of the country’s new government. He handed over a draft decree on the new government to President Vladimir Putin.
Medvedev said he believes there should be no major changes in the structure of the next government.
"Considering the fact the existing government structure has proved its functional capability, there shouldn't be any fundamental changes in it," he said at a meeting with President Putin.
The PM voiced several ideas aimed at optimizing the incumbent system of executive agencies of power. The prime minister suggested transforming the Telecom Ministry into the Digital Development Ministry.
"An important change suggested for review is the transformation of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies into the Ministry of Digital Development, to implement the digital agenda the whole world is dealing with and which is absolutely actual in our country," he noted.
Medvedev also proposed splitting the Ministry of Education and Science into the Ministry of General Education and Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
One of his ideas suggests the splitting of the Ministry of Education and Science into two separate agencies of state power. One of them, the Ministry of General Education, will supervise the system of general secondary schools and vocational schools and colleges. The other, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, will coordinate the activity of research organizations and universities..
According to him, Russia's Ministry of Industry and Trade is planned to assume management of operations of the Russian trade representations overseas currently under the Ministry of Economic Development.
"An idea is important that is related to transfer of operations of trade representations, which are now in the system of the Ministry of Economic Development, to the structure of the Ministry of Industry," Medvedev said.
