RIA Novosti reported that Mr Sergei Shmatko energy minister of Russia is expecting his pink slip from the government to leave his job on the board of directors at the state run RusHydro following an initiative by Mr Dmitry Medvedev president of Russia to remove ministers from the boards by July 1st 2011.

Mr Shmatko said that "I believe that very shortly the Russian government's position will be formulated on the terms and conditions which will come about in fulfilling the president's instructions. The process of ministers leaving the boards of directors would proceed in line with the existing demands to corporate procedures.”

Mr Medvedev said recently that he wanted all ministers to vacate their seats, including Mr Igor Sechin deputy PM as chairman of state oil firm Rosneft and finance minister Mr Alexei Kudrin as chairman of the supervisory board of VTB Bank.

Mr Igor Levitin transport minister of Russia will be replaced at Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot and Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport while First deputy PM Mr Viktor Zubkov should resign from the Russian Agricultural Bank.

The move has rekindled rumors of a growing rift between Mr Medvedev and Mr Putin who have recently disagreed on a number of issues most notably on the second conviction of former oligarch and Putin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky and on the UN mandated air strikes on Libya.

(Sourced from RIA Novosti)