Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed Andrei Belousov on Monday as his economic adviser. Belousov takes the place of Elvira Nabiullina, who has taken charge at the central bank, in a staff rotation that enhances the influence of interventionists and further sidelines liberals who advocate a more market-oriented approach, Reuters reports.
"The reshuffle could be interpreted as strengthening the axes of economic power around President Putin," Reuters quotes Ivan Tchakarov, chief Russia economist at investment bank Renaissance Capital.
Belousov, 54, advised Putin during the latter's four-year term as prime minister, helping put together an anti-crisis program to nurse Russia through the global financial and economic slump.
