Putin takes by surprise by Claudia Sonea

History is repeating; if in August 1999 former President Boris Yeltsin suddenly named from relative obscurity Putin as a prime minister, why wouldn't he do the same thing. So on Wednesday a little-known government official, loyal technocrat Viktor Zubkov, was chosen to become Russia's new prime minister. The decision was announced a few hours after the Cabinet of Mikhail Fradkov was dissolved and was accompanied by the explication that the country must be prepared for life after elections. Some see it as a move to retain power after stepping down; others see Zubkov more like a caretaker prime minister that is due to be changed closer to the Election Day. Boris Nadezhdin, a leader of the liberal Union of Right Forces party, confesses that it was a similar situation with Putin, while Yevgeny Volk, who heads the Heritage Foundation's Moscow office, says it is unlikely to have named his successor Wednesday. This announcement came earlier than it was expected, the country thought it will happen after parliamentary elections in December and that the president candidate will be promoted from the favorite prime minister- former Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Gazprom board chairman Dmitry Medvedev. Kremlin loyalists praised the new prime minister saying he's an honest, hardworking professional. But Andrei Illarionov, Putin's former economic adviser who quit in late 2005 after sharply criticizing Kremlin policy, says it is not a matter of personality, the organization is the problem. Being formed under Putin reign it cannot bring a sudden change in policy. Liberal politicians, Nadezhdin and Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of the Yabloko party agree on the fact that the move only states that the only power in Russia is the president. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack stated that despite some issues the government in Russia can work with the new prime minister. Don't go away, there are more news on this.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070912/ap_on_re_eu/russia_government;_ylt=AuCOLpyVYTX9AtUiAMsT26Os0NUE

by Claudia Sonea for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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