Putin dismissed his prime minister

In surprise cabinet shake-up:

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed his long-serving prime minister Wednesday and nominated little-known Cabinet official Victor Zubkov to replace him in a surprise move that could put Zubkov in the running to replace Putin next year.

The nomination of Zubkov, who currently oversees the government's fight against money-laundering, appeared to have caught much of the Russian political elite off-guard.

Putin had been expected to announce in December whom he would back to run for president next year -- and Russia's two first deputy prime ministers -- former Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and gas giant Gazprom board chairman Dmitry Medvedev -- were widely considered to be the leading contenders.

After dismissing Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov -- triggering the government's automatic dissolution -- Putin explained the shakeup was required to "prepare the country" for forthcoming elections.