MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin quietly reappointed the controversial Kremlin chief-of-staff Saturday, the strongest sign yet that he won't sever ties with the powerful circle of advisers of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin.
Alexander Voloshin, the presidential chief-of-staff, was a central figure in the group of businessmen and politicians who made up the so-called "Family" of advisers who wielded enormous power under Yeltsin.
Russian and Swiss investigators have probed allegations linking members of Yeltsin's family and top Kremlin aides to alleged kickbacks for lucrative government contracts and money laundering. No charges have been made in connection with the probes.
Putin, who was named acting president by Yeltsin and won elections in March, vowed to crack down on the corruption that pervades the government and many parts of Russian society. His untainted image and promises to punish corruption were key to his popularity.
Russian politicians and analysts had been waiting to see if Putin would rehire Voloshin and other senior figures from the previous administration as a test of whether he would act independently and tackle the corruption that blossomed under Yeltsin.
But Putin has reappointed most of the ministers and senior officials from the old government. Since he was inaugurated on May 7, Putin has focused on consolidating the Kremlin's power.
Voloshin's reappointment was likely to worry those Russians who had hoped that Putin's election would signal the end of the power and influence of the tiny circle of politicians and tycoons who have dominated Russian politics since the Soviet collapse in 1991.
Russia's former chief prosecutor, Yuri Skuratov, who was involved in the corruption probes, alleged earlier this year that there was evidence of wrongdoing involving Voloshin.
"The entire Kremlin inner circle has problems with the law," Skuratov said at a news conference in February. Evidence of wrongdoing "has been lying unasked for without any checking," he said. "I don't say they are criminals, but all this evidence must be thoroughly investigated."
Yeltsin attempted to dismiss Skuratov, who was himself implicated in corruption allegations. Putin secured Skuratov's dismissal after he took over.
News of Voloshin's reappointment late Saturday suggested the Kremlin wanted to minimize the announcement.
Also Saturday, Putin reappointed Sergei Ivanov as secretary of Russia's Security Council. Ivanov, like Putin, used to work in the Federal Security Service, the chief successor to the KGB.
In another decree Putin signed Saturday, the Security Council will now include the presidential representatives of Russia's seven new superdistricts. Putin announced a plan earlier this month to divide the country into seven districts to boost federal control.
Putin sought Saturday to reassure the elected governors of Russia's 89 regions that the new federal districts were intended to improve government efficiency, not to weaken the governors.
"I want to stress and repeat that the purpose is not to interfere in the internal affairs of the regions but to ensure more efficient work of federal structures," Putin said in a meeting with 16 governors from Siberia, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
Putin has also introduced draft laws that would remove regional governors from the upper house of parliament and allow the president to fire them if they violate federal law.
Those moves have been interpreted as attempts by Putin to wrest control away from the governors, who acted with little federal oversight under Yeltsin, sometimes passing laws that contradict the federal Constitution.