Reuters Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov

Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov on Tuesday plucked control of the country's 66 state-owned firms from the Property Ministry in a move intended to combat corruption in the bureaucracy.

Previously, the State Property Ministry issued representatives with directives on how to vote at shareholder and board meetings. Now, under Resolution 91-r, such orders will come from Kasyanov himself or deputies acting on his behalf.

A highly-placed official in the Property Ministry contended that little will change since key positions were always "agreed over the phone with the White House."

For the 18 companies given highest priority, Kasyanov will personally approve the appointments of those who vote the government's stake. The list includes Aeroflot, Alrosa, Transneft, Vneshtorgbank, Gazprom and Unified Energy Systems.

The resolution "sets boundaries on the free will of state representatives," said Alexei Volin, deputy head of the presidential administration.

"It is much harder to buy the prime minister than it is an employee at the Property Ministry, and this is exactly the reason that decisions are to be adopted at a higher level," said an official who helped to prepare the resolution, adding that the decision will also help to implement the government's concept for management of state property.

But senior Property Ministry official Alexander Borodin said the list of companies under the control of the prime minister could fall by a third. Borodin said state representatives rarely ignore directives and that corruption is a far less pressing problem than it was in the nineties.

The business community welcomed Kasyanov's decision, but expressed doubt as to its effectiveness.

"The prime minister cannot physically control all important decisions at scores of companies," said a lawyer with a large investment company that has battled in the past with state representatives. Decisions, he said, would be prepared by officials from ministries with deeper knowledge of the issues.

Alexander Branis, director of Prosperity Capital Management and a UES board member, said he was all for the decision and hoped it would increase state representatives' responsibility.

But a Property Ministry official forecast problems. "Board meetings at UES are called so often that it is unlikely they will succeed in obtaining all directives for all the votes in time," the official said.