Yeltsin's new Cabinet signals further reform

MOSCOW President Boris Yeltsin appointed a new Cabinet Thursdaythat signals continuity in market reforms and raises hopes forindustrial change, analysts said.

Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, laying out Yeltsin'sblueprint for government, named Vladimir Potanin, 35-year-oldpresident of Oneximbank, a leading financial institution here, as oneof three top deputies in a new government aimed at dealing withRussia's extensive economic woes.

Aleksei Bolshakov, perhaps the biggest surprise, rose as the topdeputy prime minister for industrial policy from the low-profiledeputy role of handling relations with former Soviet republics.

Viktor Ilyushin, a key Yeltsin assistant, shifted to becomefirst deputy premier for social affairs. Alexander Livshits, a keyplayer in Yeltsin's re-election campaign who has advised him oneconomic issues since 1994, was named minister of finance and adeputy in the government. Yegeny Yasin, another reform-mindedadviser, remains minister of economy.

The appointments came as fighting eased for a second day inChechnya, prompting Chernomyrdin, at a news conference, to discussthe new government in terms of improving "coordination andeffectiveness" at the federal level.

Analysts said the new government might ease fears about Russia'scommitment to reform. "They should be reasonably happy," said oneWestern diplomat who cautioned that Potanin's and Bolshakov's graspof macro-economic policies remained untested.