Duma Vote Confirms Putin as Premier; Now the Hard Part

Vladimir V. Putin won confirmation Monday as Russia’s fifth prime minister since early last year, and the ex-KGB agent must now try to revive a depressed economy, crush a rebel uprising and remain on good terms with a notoriously fickle president.

Putin, 46, will have fewer than 12 months in office to tackle the monumental problems that have plagued Russia throughout the decade, and expectations are low among a population grown cynical after so many political upheavals.

Putin told parliament he would pursue market economic reforms, assist millions of Russians suffering from the prolonged recession and crack down on Islamic militants in the Caucasus Mountains.

His speech echoed the promises of previous Russian prime ministers, none of whom made much headway before being cast aside by President Boris N. Yeltsin.

“We will continue reforms started by previous Cabinets, but the reforms aren’t a goal in themselves--they must improve people’s condition,” Putin said.

Shortly afterward, parliament’s lower house, the Duma, approved him by a vote of 233 to 84.

Putin needed 226 votes to win confirmation, and if legislators had rejected him, they would have been on a collision course with Yeltsin. The president must dissolve parliament if it rejects his candidate three times. But with parliamentary elections set for December, lawmakers were not inclined to risk losing their jobs.

In a 10-minute speech, Putin tried to mollify Communists and other hard-liners who dominate parliament. He promised to help war veterans, write off huge debts run up by Russia’s ailing defense plants and defend the interests of ethnic Russians living in other former Soviet republics.

Meanwhile, Russian jet fighters and helicopters roared over the Caucasus region of Dagestan on Monday, pressing a bombing campaign against the Islamic militants holed up in several mountain villages.

Russian commanders claimed that the rebels were surrounded, but rebel radio transmissions intercepted by Russia, along with testimony from rebel prisoners, suggested that the militants were getting a steady supply of food and ammunition from allies in the neighboring separatist republic of Chechnya.