With his ratification by the Duma, Mr Yevgeny Primakov's problems as Russia's new Prime Minister have just begun. One of his first acts, in his speech before the Duma vote, was to nominate a Communist, Mr Yuri Maslyukov, as First Deputy Prime Minister and, although not announced to deputies, he has nominated Mr Viktor Gerashchenko as head of Russia's Central Bank.
Both appointments are controversial, and at least one deputy of the democratic Yabloko faction which promoted Mr Primakov for the premiership was not happy. Mr Alexei Arbatov told The Irish Times that in his view Mr Gerashchenko would be a bad governor of the bank.
While Yabloko would support Mr Primakov as Prime Minister, it would not necessarily support cabinet members when their turn for ratification came, he said.
The vote of 315 for Mr Primakov with 63 against and 15 abstentions is, therefore, merely an initial indication of good will towards the new Prime Minister. Things could get tougher later, and this was indicated by Yabloko's leader, the free-market economist Mr Grigory Yavlinsky, who said his party would support Mr Primakov, but would not join his government and would reserve the right to oppose policies.
"There must be no printing of money and there must be no renationalisation," Mr Yavlinsky said. The Communist leader, Mr Gennady Zyuganov, on the other hand, called for major support for the poor, the payment of teachers, the provision of hot meals at schools and the restoration of the state medical system.
Mr Primakov predicted a policy of state regulation of the economy but completely ruled out a return to the command economy of communism. He compared his ideas to those of the US president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, who brought the United States out of the Great Depression.
His deputy, Mr Maslyukov, may be a communist, he pointed out, but he was appointed as an individual professional and not as a representative of the Communist Party.
Mr Maslyukov, it should be noted, was Minister for Trade and Industry in what was generally described as the reformist government of Mr Sergei Kiriyenko. He has not always toed his party's line and in fact voted for Mr Kiriyenko's candidature in the Duma when the Communist Party officially opposed him.
Mr Primakov, foreign minister until Thursday, named his first deputy foreign minister, Mr Igor Ivanov, to succeed him. There was no immediate formal reaction from the State Department.
Mr Primakov signalled the ratification of the Start-2 arms reduction treaty which the Duma consistently refused to ratify as a protest against NATO expansion.
Mr Primakov's government was planned, he said, to last about three months at the end of which the Communists would be totally discredited.
The markets did not agree. As the vote was announced, the rouble reached 9.35 at an exchange offering 22 just three days ago.
