Russia‘s New PM is Former Soviet Spy

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin, a former KGB spy, built a reputation as a shrewd Russian security chief. But he will need to muster all his wiles to fulfil his next role as President Boris Yeltsin‘s new premier and favoured heir. In announcing that he had named Putin as acting premier and backed him as Russia‘s next president, Yeltsin said he was „capable of uniting society, based on the broadest political forces, to ensure the continuation of reforms in Russia“. „He will be able to unite those who will renew the great Russia in the 21st century,“ said Yeltsin, who must step down after an election in 2000. But analysts from across the Russian political spectrum said Putin‘s elevation smacked of desperation and was aimed at protecting the interests of the president‘s inner circle, not of the nation. They also said his appointment raised the fear that Yeltsin and his entourage would employ „unconstitutional“ measures to protect themselves from the vengeance of a hostile successor. The tight-lipped 47-year-old Putin is a poor public speaker and seldom appears on television. But he is known for his loyalty to changing bosses and for getting the job done. Putin replaces former interior minister Sergei Stepashin, sacked as head of Russia‘s government after just three months. Putin is seen as close to market reformer Anatoly Chubais, architect of Russia‘s controversial privatisation programme. Putin first entered the domestic political arena in the early 1990s as aide to Anatoly Sobchak, liberal mayor of Russia‘s second city St Petersburg. He remained in the shadow of his new boss but quickly made himself indispensable in managing the city‘s affairs, earning the nickname of the „grey cardinal“. Putin helped Sobchak lay the foundations of a market economy in St Petersburg and also helped his boss brush off claims by his opponents that he was abusing his powers. In the mid-1990s Putin confessed that he had served with Soviet foreign intelligence, then part of the KGB secret police, for many years in Germany. Details of his career in intelligence remain unknown but the confession did no harm to his relations with Sobchak. After Sobchak‘s election defeat in 1996, Putin was invited to Moscow to work as deputy to the powerful Pavel Borodin, manager of the huge office running the property of President Boris Yeltsin‘s administration. Putin‘s move to Moscow had been arranged by Chubais. Within a year, Putin had been invited to join Yeltsin‘s administration as head of the Control Department, an influential watchdog body. In July 1998 Yeltsin named Putin head of the Federal Security Service (FSB), one of the successor bodies of the Soviet-era KGB. In March this year Putin also became secretary of Yeltsin‘s advisory Security Council, in a move which confirmed the president‘s respect for his loyalty and quiet efficiency. Putin was born on October 7, 1952, in St Petersburg, then known as Leningrad. He graduated from the city‘s law faculty in 1975. He speaks fluent German and enjoys sport, especially wrestling. Putin is married and has two children.