World

Yeltsin Picks New Team

May 21, 1999 / 10:39 AM EDT / AP

President Boris Yeltsin has started putting together Russia's latest Cabinet - and it's looking much like the old one.

Before leaving for an abrupt vacation in southern Russia on Friday, Yeltsin reappointed several key members of the previous government to a new Cabinet. There were two exceptions: a new interior minister and a first deputy prime minister, both of whom the Russian media have linked to controversial tycoon Boris Berezovsky.

Yeltsin reappointed Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu and Justice Minister Pavel Krasheninnikov.

The appointments follow the crisis that erupted when Yeltsin ousted the entire Cabinet on May 12. The president then faced down an impeachment vote, and lawmakers, humbled by the failure, easily approved his loyalist nominee for prime minister, Sergei Stepashin.

Nikolai Aksyonenko, a former railways minister, was appointed by Yeltsin to the post of first deputy prime minister. He apparently replaced Yuri Maslyukov, a Communist responsible for overseeing economic policy who was disliked by Yeltsin's staff.

Vladimir Rushailo was named as Russia's new interior minister.

Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev. (AP)

Russian media describe Aksyonenko and Rushailo as tools of Berezovsky, who allegedly had his hand in the ouster of the previous prime minister, Yevgeny Primakov. Primakov and Berezovsky, who has close ties to Yeltsin's family, have long been at odds.

Â"Boris Berezovsky is the coach of the team that has taken the helm,Â" the business daily Kommersant said.

Aksyonenko's field of responsibility wasn't immediately clear, but media reports said he would be given broad powers over the economy.

Aksyonenko has overseen the huge web of Russian railways, one of the nation's giant state monopolies, but has no experience in economic management. Most analysts describe him as a Soviet-style technocrat with little understanding of free-market reforms.

Emergency Situations Minister Sergei Shoigu. (AP)

His ministry is steeped in corruption allegations, and parliament is demanding that he personally provides explanations, a newspaper said Saturday.

The focus of the allegations is TransRail, a Swiss-based company half owned by the ministry, the Moscow Times said. It was set up in 1989 to serve as a middleman between the ministry and foreign clients.

Aksyonenko told a Russian newspaper before his Cabinet appointment that he intended to appear befre parliament to explain TransRail's operation.

Â"I have been invited to report (on TransRail) on June 4,Â" he told the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda on Wednesday. Â"I will definitely speak there to put an end to all the tall tales surrounding this issue.Â"

Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov. (AP)

Rushailo, known for his efforts combating organized crime and seeking the release hostages in breakaway Chechnya, has denied links to Berezovsky.

Stepashin, who was interior minister in the previous Cabinet, introduced his successor to the ministry today, saying his goals will be anti-crime operations, decriminalization of the economy and fighting organized crime, the ITAR-Tass news agency said.

Yeltsin spokesman Dmitry Yakushkin said the Cabinet's formation would likely be completed next week. He said Stepashin may visit Yeltsin at his residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi to discuss new appointments.

Stepashin today was working on his economic program, Russian news reports said. He scheduled meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bulgak and with Rem Vyakhirev, chief of the Gazprom gas company, ITAR-Tass said.

Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin. (AP)

Communist leader Gennady Zugyanov said today his party would support the new Cabinet if it works Â"to the benefit of the country, its industry and businesses,Â" the Interfax news agency said.

He said he believed the new Cabinet would not take sides with the Kremlin. Â"Any minister realizes that Yeltsin's era is over,Â" ITAR-Tass quoted him as saying. The new Cabinet, he said, Â"will avoid doing stupid things.Â"