Most presidents change the government after an election. This week Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed his entire Cabinet three weeks before he faces voters. The move was not an election gambit -- the outcome of next month's ballot is not in doubt.
Mr. Putin will be re-elected by a landslide. The dismissal of the Cabinet is more a definitive break with the past than a reorientation for the future. It confirms the president's increasing control over all aspects of policy. It is another troubling development for Russia's young democracy.
In fact, the change of government was designed to rid the president of one man -- Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. The Russian Constitution stipulates that the entire government must go if the prime minister is fired, but that does not worry Mr. Putin. He named Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko as interim premier and kept the other Cabinet members as "acting" ministers. Mr. Putin has three weeks to name a genuine replacement.