Moscow ? President Vladimir Putin named a new government Monday, tapping new economics and health ministers and retaining his foreign and defense ministers in an expected but largely cosmetic shuffle before parliamentary and presidential elections.

The new government’s naming comes just over a week after Viktor Zubkov, an obscure Cabinet official who had overseen a money laundering investigation, became prime minister in a move that surprised most Kremlin experts and stoked speculation who would be Putin’s successor.

The changes were largely superficial and observers said major policy shifts of any sort were unlikely before parliamentary elections in December and presidential vote in March.