When Prime Minister Medvedev’s cabinet was announced on May 21, some observers noted with optimism that a handful of reformers remained among the hardline siloviki satellites of President Putin. This was perhaps the last point at which that it appeared that the former President may have retained any clout in the new Putin era.  Soon after, arch Putin ally Igor Sechin, having been left out of the cabinet, was nonetheless made head of Rosneft, and subsequently asserted his authority with some strategic power lunching, to the detriment of liberal Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich whose responsibilities nominally include the energy sphere.  Meanwhile Putin’s cronies who had been left out of the cabinet, returned to the fold via positions in the presidential administration.