Vladimir Putin's appointment of Nikolai Patrushev as his aide, which forms part of his cabinet reshuffle, appears to be a demotion, our international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn says.
Waghorn says Patrushev, who was moved from his role of secretary on the security council to make way for Sergei Shoigu, is a "colourful and rather sinister character".
"He is the ideas man behind the direction Vladimir Putin has taken his country in," he says.
"He seems to believe in any conspiracy theory that is going. He can buy into paranoia about the way the world is treating Russia, with delusions of grandeur about the restoration of the Russian empire.
"He's put a lot of thoughts and ideas into Putin's head over the years."
Waghorn says Western observers "will be relieved" he's been taken away from that position and it "looks as though he's been put into a position where he has been demoted to an adviser role".
"He's still in a position where he can influence Putin but he won't have control over intelligence gathering," he adds.
"The apparent demotion will be encouraging to observers in the West."
But Waghorn also notes that it looks as though Mr Putin "is getting his act together".
"Bringing about a reshuffle might give him a bit more reality with the way in which he views the world - that may or may not be a good thing," he adds.
