President Vladimir Putin's ambition of instilling a little discipline into the ramshackle Russian economy has taken an unusual step forward.

Mr Putin has appointed a general - the man in charge of mobilising the army at times of crisis - to a senior post at the Economy Ministry, according to Russian media reports.

General Vladislav Putilin is to oversee top-secret plans to keep Russia on an economic war footing, allowing the government to switch from civil to military production as fast as possible.

An economic mobilisation plan has been in place since the Stalin era, but the bulk of industry is now in private hands, and the government has no money to keep the country in a state of readiness.

General election

General Putilin will serve as a deputy to German Gref, Russia's decidedly unmilitary and liberal economy minister.

Under Stalin, military methods boosted the economy

Mr Gref has denied that any such appointment has taken place, but he has been contradicted by the defence ministry, which wants to ensure that the economic side of mobilisation plans is in military hands.

According to Moscow analysts, General Putilin will have to conduct an audit of Russian industry, in order to establish where production capacity exists and how it can be exploited.

Much of Russia's existing civilian industry uses plants built for military production during the Cold War, and technology is often dual-purpose.

Bad old days

For many Russians, General Putilin's appointment will spark unpleasant memories of the Soviet era.

The appointment smacks of Soviet times

Under Joseph Stalin especially, civilians were often mobilised into labour gangs, and workers were drilled in a brutally military fashion.

The need to boost arms production with lightning speed during World War II was the main stimulus for Russia's transition from a rural to an industrial economy.

But General Putilin's appointment could also please a substantial number of Russians, who hanker after the security of the Soviet period, and bemoan the economic chaos that has broken out in the past decade.

Present problems

While Russia has a long history of mixing military and economic affairs, reviving the mobilisation plan may not prove easy.

Mr Putin has a fondness for military methods

Russia no longer has a "command economy", under which Moscow bureaucrats marshalled decisions all over the country.

Indeed, Moscow has lost all but the most basic forms of control in the past few years.

The government may be able to compel or persuade some Russian industrialists to fall in line.

But many large firms have substantial foreign shareholders, who feel no patriotic duty, and who stand to lose out economically from meeting the demands of the military.