Putin Dismisses Yeltsin's Daughter From Kremlin Administration 
               By Judith Ingram
               Associated Press Writer

               MOSCOW (AP) - Moving to establish himself as master of the
               Russian government, acting President Vladimir Putin dismissed
               Boris Yeltsin's daughter Monday in one of his first official acts. 

               The speedy removal of Tatyana Dyachenko from her Kremlin post
               as "image adviser" sent a clear message to the Russian public
               that Putin wants to sever ties with the scandal-tinged Yeltsin
               administration. 

               The terse announcement of Dyachenko's dismissal marked Putin's
               first personnel change since taking office Friday. It suggested that
               he wants to quickly cut ties with corruption-tainted members of
               Yeltsin's inner circle, whom many Russians have come to
               despise, and prove that he is his own man. 

               Dyachenko had been accused of exercising undue influence over
               government policy, and has recently been a focus of an
               investigation into allegations of Kremlin bribery. 

               Putin, who is seen as the strong front-runner in presidential
               elections expected March 26, has indicated that one of his main
               goals is to clean up the widespread corruption that may be the
               single biggest obstacle to Russia's development. He has sternly
               warned government bureaucrats that he won't tolerate criminality or
               favoritism. 

               But many analysts have questioned whether he will go beyond
               window-dressing. 

               "The problem of anti-corruption campaigns is that unless you start
               at the top, there's no point," Margo Light, a Russia expert at the
               London School of Economics, said Monday. 

               Putin granted Yeltsin immunity from prosecution on Friday, almost
               immediately after the aged president resigned unexpectedly and
               named him acting president. However, while the decree protected
               Yeltsin and made it impossible to subpoena his papers, the
               immunity did not extend to his family. 

               Neither the substance of Dyachenko's job nor the extent of her
               influence were ever clear. Regardless, it was a position that gave
               the former computer engineer a Kremlin office, access to her father
               in an official capacity and a great deal of behind-the-scenes
               influence. 

               She shied away from public attention, but Russian media
               persistently linked her to several powerful businessmen who have
               allegedly used their wealth and media holdings to try to manipulate
               government policy and acquire privatized state assets through
               sweetheart deals. 

               Yeltsin's erratic moves - especially his abrupt firing of four
               successive prime ministers - often provoked speculation that his
               daughter and her allies were pulling strings. 

               Most recently, Dyachenko has been at the center of a probe into
               allegations of massive kickbacks that plagued the Kremlin during
               Yeltsin's last year in office. 

               Swiss and Russian prosecutors have been investigating whether
               Dyachenko and her sister Yelena Okulova, as well as other
               Kremlin officials, took bribes from a Swiss company, Mabetex,
               that won lucrative Kremlin construction contracts. The money
               reportedly went to Kremlin property manager Pavel Borodin, who
               oversaw the renovation work, and was made available to Yeltsin
               and his family. 

               Swiss authorities were also reportedly monitoring a bank account
               opened by a Svetlana Dyachenko, which they suspected was
               actually set up for Tatyana. 

               Though the corruption allegations against Yeltsin and his
               administration have been swirling for months, no senior officials
               have been charged with any wrongdoing. 

               Putin removed three other officials from their Kremlin posts on
               Monday: presidential spokesman Dmitry Yakushkin, protocol chief
               Vladimir Shevchenko, and presidential office chief Valery
               Semyonchenko. However, Kremlin chief of staff Alexander
               Voloshin then appointed Yakushkin as one of his deputies. 

               Yakushkin told Echo of Moscow radio on Monday that Yeltsin
               would maintain an office in the Kremlin, and that he would continue
               meeting with officials on an informal basis. 

               AP-ES-01-03-00 1353EST 
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