DATE=8/9/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=PUTIN PROFILE
NUMBER=5-44031
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
INTRO: Who is Vladimir Putin, the newly named Russian
prime minister? V-O-A Moscow correspondent Peter
Heinlein has spoken with several veteran Kremlin-
watchers and files this profile of an unlikely
politician.
TEXT: Russian President Boris Yeltsin seems to think
Vladimir Putin is the most qualified to succeed him
when he steps down next year.
/// YELTSIN ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER
///
He says, "I am confident in him, and I want everyone
to have confidence in him, especially those who will
come to vote in July 2000." He also said the 46-year-
old head of the F-S-B, the main successor to the
Soviet K-G-B, is "capable of uniting society...to
ensure the continuation of reforms in Russia."
Many observers hearing the president's nationally
televised speech say that sounds like an endorsement
for the presidency.
Until he was plucked from the relative obscurity of
the Kremlin inner circle(Monday), Vladimir Putin was
seen as anything but a future Russian leader. He has
a reputation as a behind-the-scenes force, a former
spy named to head the F-S-B as a reward for loyalty to
President Yeltsin and his family.
But when asked by reporters Monday if he is really a
possible presidential candidate, Mr. Putin sounded
convincing.
/// PUTIN ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER
///
He said, "Yes, of course I will."
But analysts say Mr. Putin's words, and Mr. Yeltsin's
seeming endorsement, do not sound convincing. Alan
Rousso, director of the Moscow Carnegie Center, says
it is difficult to imagine the quiet, diminutive Mr.
Putin as a political force.
/// ROUSSO ACT ONE ///
He does not have career national politician
written all over him. He is not a well-known
figure to the rest of Russia except in his
capacity as head of the F-S-B and the Security
Council. I don't think he's a rising star in
the political firmament.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Rousso and other analysts say given President
Yeltsin's record of dumping governments, Mr. Putin
probably has no more job security than his
predecessors.
/// ROUSSO ACT TWO ///
First and foremost I would say Vladimir is a
place-holder for the Russian post of prime
minister. That is not to suggest he's not going
to be accepted by the Duma, because I think
ultimately he will be, but rather because I
think with the revolving door of prime ministers
Russia has seen over the last 18 months, it
seems hardly possible he could hold that post
until the next election, the presidential
election in mid-2000.
/// END ACT ///
If he does run for the presidency, Mr. Putin has some
obvious political liabilities. For one, he is seen as
close to former privatization chief Anatoly Chubais,
considered a hate figure for many Russian voters.
Moreover, he is a Kremlin insider, a protege of the
wildly unpopular Mr. Yeltsin.
But his background in the intelligence services is
not likely to be seen as a negative factor. Analysts
point out his career is not that much different from
that of his predecessor, Sergei Stepashin, or of Mr.
Stepashin's predecessor, Yevgeny Primakov. Mr.
Primakov, who also served as a spymaster, is today
ranked Russia's most popular politician, and a likely
presidential prospect. (Signed)
NEB/PFH/JWH/rrm
09-Aug-1999 13:38 PM EDT (09-Aug-1999 1738 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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