MOSCOW (Reuters) – Five years after investigative journalist and Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in her apartment building, her unsolved murder is becoming a test case for Vladimir Putin on his return to Russia’s presidency.

The arrest of a murder suspect and a former police officer accused of helping organize the killing has increased the chance of a successful prosecution in a case that came to symbolize the corruption of the political and judicial system under Putin.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Five years after investigative journalist and Kremlin critic Anna Politkovskaya was shot dead in her apartment building, her unsolved murder is becoming a test case for Vladimir Putin on his return to Russia’s presidency.

The arrest of a murder suspect and a former police officer accused of helping organise the killing has increased the chance of a successful prosecution in a case that came to symbolise the corruption of the political and judicial system under Putin.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Vladimir Putin has risked harming Russia’s economy by firing his finance minister, a prominent economist and business leader said on Wednesday, adding to scattered warnings of crisis since Putin confirmed he would reclaim the presidency.

Anatoly Chubais, the architect of liberal economic reforms in the 1990s and Kremlin chief of staff under Boris Yeltsin, said the prime minister no longer had top-notch professionals running the economy at a time of dangerous global turmoil.

MOSCOW, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin hoped on Tuesday to put his plans for a smooth return to
the presidency back on track by quickly appointing a new finance
minister and showing he is addressing fears of political
paralysis.

Putin sacrificed his trusted finance minister, Alexei
Kudrin, on Monday after President Dmitry Medvedev demanded his
dismissal for rebelling against a plan for Medvedev and Putin to
swap places next year.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Vladimir Putin’s strategy for a smooth return to the Kremlin appears to have gone off script with the departure of Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin.

The removal of such a trusted ally on Monday is unlikely to have been part of Putin’s plan when he announced on Saturday that he wanted to reclaim the presidency in an election next March after nearly four years as prime minister.

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Vladimir Putin’s strategy for a smooth return to the Kremlin appears to have gone off script with the departure of Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin.

The removal of such a trusted ally on Monday is unlikely to have been part of Putin’s plan when he announced on Saturday that he wanted to reclaim the presidency in an election next March after nearly four years as prime minister.

MOSCOW, Sept 26 (Reuters) – A revolt by Russia’s finance
minister over Vladimir Putin’s plan to swap places with
President Dmitry Medvedev deepened concerns about reforms on
Monday and raised the possibility of a battle over policy and
the premiership.

Putin’s announcement on Saturday that he planned to return
to the Kremlin next year after nearly four years as prime
minister was intended to end political uncertainty that has been
undermining Russia’s economic performance.

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Russia’s finance
minister rebelled on Sunday against Vladimir Putin’s plan to
make President Dmitry Medvedev his prime minister if he returns
to the Kremlin by saying he would not serve in the next
government.

Foreign investors were alarmed by Alexei Kudrin’s snub after
Putin announced he will run for president next March in an
election that could extend his rule until 2024.

MOSCOW, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin has announced he wants to return to the presidency in an
election in March.

Following are some details of his strategy and what the
outcomes might be:

What is Putin’s plan?

Putin announced to his ruling United Russia party on
Saturday that he would run in the presidential election in March
and proposed a job swap under which Dmitry Medvedev, who is now
the head of state, would become prime minister. Medvedev also
accepted Putin’s proposal to head United Russia’s list of
candidates in a parliamentary election on Dec. 4 to try to boost
the party’s hopes of retaining its two-thirds majority in the
State Duma, or lower house.

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON, Sept 25 (Reuters) – Russia’s finance
minister rebelled on Sunday against Vladimir Putin’s plan to
make President Dmitry Medvedev his prime minister if he returns
to the Kremlin by saying he would not serve in the next
government.

Foreign investors were alarmed by Alexei Kudrin’s snub after
Putin announced he will run for president next March in an
election that could extend his rule until 2024.