The defense ministry and the general chiefs of staff -- whose imposing headquarters face each other across a road a stone's throw from the Kremlin -- had been battling over the past decade for control of military operations and army financing.

Under pressure from Putin, who named Ivanov as Russia's first civilian defense minister in March 2001, the State Duma lower house of parliament agreed Friday to delete most of the responsibilities of the chiefs of staff.

It struck out a line in the federal legislation that the joint chiefs of staff "represent the main organ of the operational command of the armed forces of the Russian Federation."

This duty -- including oversight of Russian training exercises, field operations and domestic base inspections -- will now lie with Ivanov's ministry.

Media reports said that the chiefs of staff that have been headed by General Anatoly Kvashnin since before Putin became president early in 2000 will now be in charge of drafting the planning stages of potential military operations.

These will then be reported directly to Ivanov.

The legislation, while relatively technical in nature, was a major coup for the new Kremlin team and Ivanov.

"The general staff has lost control over the army," the Izvestia daily proclaimed in a headline.

"From now, all of the responsibility for decisions and how they are carried out will hang over one person -- Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov."

Putin has struggled to stamp his control over the military since his Saint Petersburg ally Ivanov has reportedly been able to win little respect in the army.

Both Putin and Ivanov rose through the ranks of the secret services rather than the military and have struggled to crack the clannish structure of the Soviet-era armed forces.

Reports said Kvashnin's team has repeatedly stalled Ivanov's efforts to cut staff in what was to be a first step towards streamlining and strengthening the bloated Soviet-era force.

But Putin has appeared to stick with his choice of Ivanov despite his struggles and has been reportedly unhappy with Kvashnin's alleged failure to draft a broader global military strategy for Russia.

Parliament -- dominated by pro-Kremlin forces since December parliamentary elections -- voted overwhelmingly in favor of the change in a sign that it has received a clear signal that Putin was siding with Ivanov in his battle with the entrenched military elite.

"This law is needed to make the armed force's command more effective and, primarily, to avoid uncoordinated steps," said parliamentary defense committee member General Nikolai Bezborodov.

"It is not a secret that measures taken by the defense ministry and the general staff over the past few years have often run counter to one another.

Kvashnin has not yet spoken publicly about the decision.

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