UPDATE 1-Kremlin backs Kalugin to become next Rostelecom CEO

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MOSCOW, March 27 (Reuters) - The Kremlin supports the nomination of former cable TV boss Sergei Kalugin to become the next chief executive of Rostelecom , President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told Reuters.

"I don't know when his candidacy will be approved but I can say his candidacy was agreed," Peskov said. The state-controlled operator is expected to hold a board meeting on Wednesday.

A source close to the board told Reuters earlier on Wednesday that although the CEO change was not on the original agenda of the meeting, it could be included "at any moment".

The development comes weeks after Marshall Capital Partners, a fund linked to CEO Alexander Provotorov, sold its 10.7 percent stake to Arkady Rotenberg, a construction tycoon close to Putin, fuelling speculation he may be on his way out.

Provotorov came under fire after a cabinet reshuffle last May, with the government, which owns 53 percent of Rostelecom, becoming critical of the company's weak share price and of management's plans to expand in the competitive mobile market.

Provotorov defended the mobile ambitions in an interview with Reuters last month and admitted relations were problematic with the new government formed after Putin was elected for a third Kremlin term last year.

Kalugin is the former head of TV operator National Cable Networks that Rostelecom acquired in 2011.

(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Katya Golubkova and Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Douglas Busvine)

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Keywords: RUSSIA ROSTELECOM/CEO