Anatoly Iksanov has experience of managing financial problems

The daily Kommersant newspaper said the sacking of Mr Vasilyev was performed "in the best traditions of the secret services".

But Minister of Culture Mikhail Shvydkoi has promised that his ministry will not oversee the Bolshoi Theatre "in the Soviet sense of the word".

Reputation

He was quoted by the Russian newsagency Interfax as saying Mr Iksanov had "an impeccable reputation in the theatre world".

Vladmir Vasilyev was sacked after five years

He was the right man for the job because he had "a lot of experience working as a director of a theatre that has experienced financial problems".

The 200-year-old theatre, which houses the Bolshoi ballet troupe and opera company, has struggled to maintain its international reputation in recent years, suffering both artistic and financial difficulties.

Renovation

The building itself - a landmark in central Moscow - is in desperate need of repair and is the focus of an ambitious redevelopment programme.

The move comes at a time when Moscow is re-establishing central authority over Russia's cultural life, which has been abandoned to the free market since the end of Communist rule.

Russia has contributed immensely to the development of world ballet. But Russians are aware that this once-glittering symbol of national cultural prowess has lost much of its former sparkle.

Plans now under discussion include turning the Bolshoi Theatre into an artistic centre, which would end its traditional - and some say conservative - role.