Medvedev Moves to Stamp Out Dissent Before Stepping Aside for Putin Return
Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin was fired on Monday due to disagreements that he had with President Dmitry Medvedev about Putin's decision to assume the presidency and the decision by Medvedev to increase military spending which Kudrin was also opposed to. The decision has hurt Russian markets as Kudrin has guided the economy since 2000, causing some investors to pull money out of the country and the value of the ruble to depreciate.