World

Putin Taking Time To Form Cabinet

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

March 25, 2000 / 7:07 PM EST / CBS

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Cabinet members Tuesday to keep working and relax, saying it would take him more than a month to form the new government.

Putin asked First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov to tell Cabinet members "not to concentrate on talks about forming a new Cabinet," Kasyanov said.

He said Putin told him his first task in office would be picking a prime minister and selecting his Cabinet. But the taciturn Putin, elected president Sunday, said he will wait until after his May inauguration to make the appointments.

"There is more than a month before the inauguration, and people mustn't get distracted from work by these thoughts," Kasyanov told reporters after the Kremlin meeting with Putin.

Pundits have begun speculating about Putin's choice for prime minister, but he hasn't dropped any hints. Kasyanov tops the list of potential candidates, while Alexei Kudrin, a deputy finance minister who has long worked with Putin, is another possible candidate.

Putin was appointed prime minister by Boris Yeltsin last summer, and retained the premier's post when Yeltsin resigned and named Putin acting president Dec. 31.

Putin met Tuesday with Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, who had been rumored to be on the way out because he is beyond the military retirement age and has numerous foes among the military brass. But Putin ordered 60-year-old Sergeyev's term in the military extended for another year, suggesting he will keep his post when Putin forms his government, the Interfax news agency reported.

Meanwhile, Russian newspapers today buzzed with commentary on Sunday's election, saying Putin's victory demonstrated popular longing for order and stability after a decade of political and economic turmoil.

Putin managed to avoid being forced into a runoff vote against Communist candidate Gennady Zyuganov, but his victory in Sunday's election was less than the huge win he had sought. Putin and his supporters had hoped for a stronger mandate for tackling Russia's problems.

President Clinton Monday mixed congratulations to Putin with a strong nudge in the direction he wants Putin to take Russia -- urging him in a phone call to strengthen democracy and international ties.

Mr. Clinton said in a written statement that he had congratulated Putin on winning Sunday's election. "In my conversation with President-elect Putin, I emphasized the importance to Russia and the world of strengthening the foundations of Russia's democracy and deepening its international ties," he said.

Acknowledging the scale of the problems facing him, Putin said early Tuesday that he would not make any promises of quick improvements.

"The level of expectations is very high -- people are tired and struggling and they're hoping for things to get better, but miracles don't happen," he told a news conference.

In what ways will Putin's style will differ from Boris Yeltsin'?

"It will be obviously more energetic, more better with the parliament. He would not have the baggage that Yeltsin had, because of his health and also past political errors," said Leon Aron, author of Yeltsin: A Revolutionary Life. "If you take the worst-case scenario, clearly Putin is capable of using the kinds of repressive means that Yeltsin was reluctant to use. Yeltsin allowed complete freedom of the press. He allowed complete freedom for criticism for himself and of his regime. Putin has made noises to the effect 'we should tighten screws here and there'."

"Another thing: Yeltsin was extremely reluctant, I think, to put pressure on the former Soviet republics, the newly independent states," Aron said on CBS News' Early Show. "Putin has made noises with respect to Ukraine -- that owes Russia an enormous amount of money -- that he would be tougher with them."

The tough, man-of-action image that Putin cultivates appeals to many Russians, fatigued by the uncertainty and chaos of former President Boris Yeltsin's final years.

Some Russian reformers and Western officials and businessmen have praised Putin as a pragmatic reformer who will restore stability in Russia and improve people's lives by making reforms work.

But others, particularly liberals, fear Putin may trample Russia's fragile democracy and restore the iron control the secret police enforced during the Soviet era.

Putin insists he is a democrat, but he has been vague about his plans beyond stressing the need for strong government.

Many voters were holding out hope after the election. "I think that it's very good for Russia," Moscow resident Nikita told CBS News Correspondent Kimberly Dozier in Red Square. "What is really important is stability, and feeling that we can explore Western values in this country as well. And (Putin's election) is very beneficial for Russia, so I'm very pleased about that."

The Clinton administration has expressed uncertainty over how vigorously Putin will pursue democratic change. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright says, "I think we're going to have to see" how strong Putin's commitment to democracy is. "Certainly he uses all the right vocabulary when he talks about having the support of the people."

The former KGB spy has a full agenda. He must confront the ongoing war against rebels in the breakaway republic of Chechnya and take into account the strong support for his Communist opponent.

Meeting government officials Monday, Putin ordered the drafting of a program for Russia's future development to be presented to the public when the new government is formed.

Putin's victory came as a relief to many Russians after Yeltsin's unpredictability and poor health, as well as allegations of corruption within his family that contributed to his political demise.

A "time of political adventurists and experimeners" is over in Russia, said former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, whose abrupt dismissal by Yeltsin in March 1998 set off two years of political instability.

"Putin is a man who gets down to work in earnest, a man who will be able to establish order and discipline and speed up economic development," Chernomyrdin told the Interfax news agency.

He dismissed fears that Putin's call for strong government might lead to dictatorship, saying "Russian society would never accept a return to authoritarianism."

Despite Zyuganov's stronger than expected showing, analysts said Putin had gained support on traditional Communist turf and benefited from apathy among voters who in earlier elections had supported nationalists and reformers.

Yeltsin, who stunned Russians by resigning six months early and naming Putin acting president, said Sunday he was confident that the younger leader would continue the reforms set in place after the Soviet collapse.

Putin has never held elected office. He was appointed prime minister by Yeltsin in August and gained immediate popularity for his vigorous image and his tough handling of the war in Chechnya.

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