Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed decrees on the composition of the new Cabinet of Ministers.
In separate decrees, Putin appointed Andrey Belousov as the new defense minister, Alexander Bortnikov as the head of the Federal Security Service, Dmitry Kochnev as the head of the Federal Protection Service, Viktor Zolodov as the head of the National Guard, and Sergey Naryshkin as the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service.
Sergey Lavrov will remain head of the Foreign Ministry and Konstantin Chuychenko will remain head of the Justice Ministry.
After signing the document, the Russian leader congratulated members of the government during a meeting on Tuesday evening.
"I have just signed decrees on the formation of a new government, I congratulate you on that," Putin said during a meeting in the Kremlin, adding that there are many tasks ahead.
The president added that he expected the new ministers, who previously served as regional governors, to use their experience to solve problems at the federal level.
Putin also told members of the government that it was necessary to set the working agenda "for the next six years."
In a related development, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Tuesday that the newly appointed members of the Russian government, including new Defense Minister Belousov and new Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoigu, will accompany President Putin during his visit to China and take part in negotiations.
Putin will visit China on May 16-17 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping in his first foreign trip after taking office, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.