Russian President Vladimir Putin convened on Monday an unprecedented meeting of the Russian government with the participation of heads of all the 89 Russian regions. It opened in the Russian Government House.

Some 150 top-ranking officials are taking part in the meeting. Chechnya is represented by two officials: President-Elect Alu Alkhanov and Acting President Sergei Abramov. Aside from members of the cabinet, top officials of the Kremlin administration, Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov, Director of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Nikolai Patrushev, Director of the External Intelligence Service Sergei Lebedev, head of the Federal Bodyguard System Yevgeny Murov, Chairman of the Central Bank of Russia Sergei Ignatyev, official representatives of the President in the federal districts, including Anatoly Kvashnin, official representative in the Siberian Federal District, appointed to that post last week, were also invited to come.

Heads of some federal agencies and services, as well as Alexander Tsarenko, head of the Chief Department of the President's Special Programmes, are also attending the meeting.

Every Monday the President confers in the Kremlin with key members of the cabinet. On Saturdays he confers with members of the Russian Security Council. The government usually meets on Thursdays. Last week, however, it was decided to hold an expanded meeting of the government in the Government Building. Heads of all the regions came to Moscow specially for attending the meeting. Regional leaders get together only at meetings of the State Council or at an annual meeting for hearing the annual address of the President to the Federal Assembly. So, the make-up of the current meeting is evidence of the extreme importance of the problem it is going to discuss.

The previous time Putin visited the Government Building last February, immediately after the resignation of the Mikhail Kasyanov government.

Source: Itar-Tass