Word: powers
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Dates: during 2000-2000
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Early resignation was not how Yeltsin wanted to go. In his farewell speech he stressed that he had dearly hoped to stay on until the end of his term, next June, and to hand over power in keeping with the timetable laid down by the constitution. But, he said, "I have come to understand that it is necessary" to leave early. There is a new "powerful man, worthy of being President," he said, referring to Putin. The speech left the eerie impression of a despondent leader who had been persuaded, gently but firmly, that it was time to go. This...
...rapid change surprised Russians and astonished the rest of the world. U.S. officials had heard hints of an early transfer of power, but the idea seemed improbable. Yeltsin, they felt, was determined to stay. This was partly why the top officials--even as they bade Yeltsin goodbye--were struggling for a consensus on Putin, who has risen from deputy mayor of St. Petersburg to President in less than four years. Some administration officials thumbnail him as a "smooth cop"--a man tough enough to clean up Russia but charming enough to keep ties to the West. Other analysts, however, particularly...
...city's most progressive politicians, and a former law professor of his, Anatoly Sobchak. When Sobchak became mayor, Putin joined him and eventually handled foreign investment, among other responsibilities. Though he hunkered out of public sight--he was known as "a gray cardinal"--Putin began to accumulate power and a quiet reputation among reformers. In 1996, Sobchak lost a re-election campaign, and Putin headed to Moscow, where he quickly rose to become a Yeltsin confidant, to run the FSB and, eventually, to be handpicked as successor...
...absence of policies, a well-honed p.r. campaign by aides, directed at journalists and visiting Western officials, has created the impression of a cool, crisp and ambitious young leader. Skeptical observers saluted his behind-the-throne power with the nickname "Ras-Putin." He has put the word out that he will be an economic reformer, a promise that impresses U.S. officials more than their West European counterparts. Yet a few weeks ago, his economic think tank was still saying that its program would not be ready until the middle of the year 2000. His track record as Prime Minister suggests...