Russia uncertain about new leaders

"A sacrifice on the eve of elections," the Moskovsky Komsomolets daily declared on its front page beneath a picture of the ousted prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov -- a man linked to Putin's predecessor Boris Yeltsin and the businessmen who lurked in his Kremlin court.

"The first one has been removed," said the paper while predicting massive government overhauls on the eve of Putin's expected March 14 re-election.

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Putin's announcement Tuesday on national television that he was dismissing a government that oversaw four years of economic growth was a surprise not only to the nation but also to his ousted team.

The Kommersant business daily reported that most ministers and Kasyanov himself learned -- or overheard through corridor whispers -- of the decision on Tuesday morning. Many were informed of the news by Russian reporters.

Both independent newspapers and Western investors in Russia appeared uncertain about what sparked such a seemingly rash move from a president known for his calculating caution in politics.

Kasyanov, 46, has not appeared in public since his ouster. And only the back of his head was shown on state-controlled national television Tuesday when Putin asked him over to his Kremlin office to deliver the news.

Putin's decision is seen here as the Kremlin's formal break with the Yeltsin era and the business tycoons with which it was linked so closely and whom many believed Kasyanov was defending.