Read this article at Washington Post. Looks like a great book with unprecedented comments from inside sources
"Unfortunately," Putin told him, "I have to fire you." Mikhail Kasyanov was stunned. The Russian president gave no reason for the abrupt dismissal. Facing a national vote on his reelection just two weeks away, Putin had chosen a surprising time to shift governments. As he absorbed the news, Kasyanov assumed he would have to leave after the election. No, Putin corrected the prime minister. "I mean now."Oh gads, it's more ignorance in print. First off, it is customary in parlimentary governments in Europe, to fire the administration before the elections and then "rehire" them after wards with changes. Second, Kasyanov was a hold over from Yeltsin and a bought man by the oligarches who opposed all reforms, to include the flat tax. Funny how those little facts don't make it into hit pieces like this, isn't it?