Prosecutor General Yury Chaika on Monday withdrew an order to fire Anatoly Bagmet, head of the Moscow branch of the Investigative Committee, and urged his archrival, Investigative Committee chief Alexander Bastrykin, to dismiss Bagmet instead.

Chaika ordered Bagmet to be dismissed for violating the oath of office Friday, but Bagmet refused to go, saying only that his boss, Bastrykin, had the right to fire him.

Chaika on Monday told Bastrykin to “study the question of Bagmet’s future at his post, taking into account all the obstacles,” said Marina Gridneva, a spokeswoman for the Prosecutor General’s Office, Interfax reported.

The Investigative Committee had no immediate comment on Bagmet’s future.

Bagmet told Interfax that he had not received any dismissal orders from Bastrykin and added that he was working as usual.

Political analysts say the scuffle over Bagmet appears to be the latest flare-up in a simmering battle within the so-called siloviki clans. Chaika is seen as close to President Dmitry Medvedev, while the independent-minded Bastrykin is a former classmate of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.