Russia's Chernomyrdin again proves unsinkable [Last 2 paragraphs are interesting -- could be grounds for an RTS rally. Sounds like a strong leader this time.]
Sunday August 23, 2:54 pm Eastern Time
By Oleg Shchedrov
MOSCOW, Aug 23 (Reuters) - Viktor Chernomyrdin again
proved his reputation of being ''unsinkable'' on Sunday when
President Boris Yeltsin put him back in charge of Russia's government, exactly five months after
sacking him as prime minister.
Yeltsin removed Sergei Kiriyenko, who had in effect devalued the rouble and defaulted on some
Russian debt as prime minister, and named Chernomyrdin, 60, as acting premier.
''We have no government today,'' Chernomyrdin said last week as he held a flurry of secret
consultations with other political leaders.
''Measures that should be taken are not being taken or even proposed. All that is being
proposed is all muddled. Nothing is being done.''
In 1992 Yeltsin made Chernomyrdin his prime minister to replace the reformist Yegor Gaidar,
launching the stocky, low-profile former chief of the powerful Gazprom natural gas monopoly
into high-profile public politics.
Chernomyrdin loyally stood by Yeltsin through political and economic turmoil, outlasting many of
his allies and foes.
''Loyalty to Yeltsin is his shield and his insurance,'' one Kremlin official said about
Chernomyrdin's ability to survive.
In November 1996, Yeltsin handed Chernomyrdin the reins of power for one day when he had
heart surgery in a sign of trust in the prime minister.
Loyalty to Yeltsin helped Chernomyrdin survive several major government reshuffles, including
after a brief but dramatic crash in the rouble's value in October 1994 which forced out several
cabinet colleagues.
Chernomyrdin's time seemed to be running out in March 1997 when Yeltsin named young
reformers Boris Nemtsov and Anatoly Chubais as first deputy prime ministers to oversee
reforms.
But Chernomyrdin bore the humiliation calmy and waited. By early 1998, Chernomyrdin was
again as powerful as ever.
When Russia's economy started to wobble in late 1997 under the pressure of a global crisis
sparked by turmoil in Asian financial markets, Chernomyrdin again rode the storm.
But his traditional unsinkability seemed to have failed him a few months later.
On March 23 Yeltsin sacked him without explanation, replacing him with Kiriyenko.
Yeltsin later said the sacking was due to Chernomyrdin's lack of reformist stamina. But some
Kremlin sources said the growing political weight of the premier was the real reason. Yeltsin,
they said, feared Chernomyrdin had become too powerful.
Chernomyrdin, abandoned by the Kremlin chief, announced plans to run for president in 2000,
revealing an ambition he had long denied he harboured.
Many commentators predicted that Chernomyrdin, who has little charisma and often mumbles
when speaking in public, had almost no chance of winnming an election without the support of
the Kremlin. Some sentenced him to political oblivion.
Chernomyrdin announced plans to run for a place in the lower house of parliament to occupy him
until 2000, representing the centrist party Our Home is Russia movement which he heads. It has
about 10 percent of seats in the lower house.
By calling back Chernomyrdin, Yeltsin has acknowledged the usefulness of his veteran ally, who
is widely expected to remain as permanent prime minister and is likely to seek more
independence than Kiriyenko had.
Ekho Moskvy radio station quoted sources in Chernomyrdin's entourage as saying the condition
for his comeback was full control over hiring and firing ministers. It said he also wanted Yeltsin to
have no involvement in day-to-day management of the government. The report could not
immediately be confirmed.
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