The panel will control all 8,000 prosecutors and strips the prosecutors office of its power of criminal prosecution.

Aleksander Bastrykin, a former classmate of Putin’s, was placed in the new post following backroom maneuvering by Kremlin factions, according to a report in the July 11 edition of Geostrategy-Direct.com. The move appears to be a sequel to the ouster last year of Vladimir Ustinov, a hardline general prosecutor.

The new Investigations Committee, or Sledstvennyy Komitet (SK) will be extremely powerful, heading a nationwide structure of investigators and answering to the president, not the country's general prosecutor.

The panel will give Putin the power to investigate or cover up sensitive legal matters, such as the death of prominent journalists or business leaders.

Bastrykin is nominally a first deputy general prosecutor but in fact will be independent in both personnel and investigations.

Officials said Putin could use the new committee to investigate and intimidate political rivals throughout the government.