Putin inaugurated as Russian president; chooses a prime minister

Russian President Vladimir Putin takes the oath of office in the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow

Nomination of financial expert indicates focus on economy

May 7, 2000
Web posted at: 1:36 p.m. EDT (1736 GMT)

In this story: Putin's Cabinet will face serious problems Kasyanov was finance minister RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Just hours after his inauguration Sunday as Russia's second democratically elected president, Vladimir Putin has named economic expert and First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov as his choice for prime minister.

Before Kasyanov can begin working on the nation's troubles, however, his nomination first must be confirmed by the State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament. Lawmakers are expected to approve the nomination quickly.

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CNN's Miles O'Brien interviews Russian political analyst Andrei Kortunov at Putin's inauguration. (May 7) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

By nominating Kasyanov, Putin may be sending a signal that tackling Russia's sagging economy will top his agenda as he begins his first term as president.

"I call for a free, prosperous, strong, civilized, proud Russia," Putin said in his inauguration speech from the ornate Grand Kremlin Palace, once a throne room for Russian czars.

With his right hand on a copy of the 1993 Russian Constitution, Putin took the oath of office, swearing before 1,000 guests to "protect and respect the rights and freedoms" of the people.

Russia's former president, Boris Yeltsin, took part in the ceremony, transferring power constitutionally from one leader to another for the first time in Russia's long history.

"We can be proud that this is being done peacefully, without revolutions and coups," Yeltsin said.

Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned on December 31, naming Putin, then Russia's deputy prime minister, acting president. In the four months that Putin has been Russia's acting president, he has faced challenges that remain serious threats to the nation -- most notably, the economy.

In the last decade, Russia's economy has been struggling to survive, switching from an inefficient and centralized Soviet system to a distorted free market, dominated by corruption, organized crime and bureaucracy.

"It remains to be seen if Putin and his new Cabinet will make a strong enough team to take on the multitude of problems Russia faces, including corruption," said Tom Graham of the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, a Washington research center."

Putin has not announced how he plans to solve the nation's economic troubles, or how he might plan to end Russia's military conflict in its rebel republic of Chechnya. There, battles between separatist forces and Russian troops have dragged on for months, drawing criticism from nations that could help Russia with crucial investments.

Russia's new president has two opportunities to strengthen his nation's international ties: an upcoming summit with U.S. President Bill Clinton and the Group of Eight economic summit of top industrialized nations, set for July in Japan.

Russia's First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov has been nominated by President Putin to be prime minister

"Arms control is on his agenda, and he is going to discuss this in Moscow with Clinton in June. Then Putin will try to persuade his G-8 colleagues that it's time to invest in Russia again. There are tremendous problems in Russia," Graham told CNN. "Putin needs political skill to defeat these problems, and perhaps in two or three years, he can begin turning around the standard of living in Russia. But eliminating those problems altogether is going to take a long, long time."

Under the Russian Constitution, the president names the prime minister, who heads Putin's Cabinet and oversees the actual day-to-day running of the government.

Kasyanov has been involved in handling economic policy since 1990, when Russia was still part of the Soviet Union. He became finance minister in Yeltsin's administration in May 1999.

In January, shortly after Putin was named acting president, he promoted Kasyanov to deputy prime minister. At the time, Putin praised Kasyanov as a strong coordinator, saying the appointment was intended to streamline economic policy.

Correspondent Steve Harrigan, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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