Putin Starts New Term With Same Premier as Foreign Tensions Grow
Source: Bloomberg News
By Evgenia Pismennaya , Ilya Arkhipov , and Henry Meyer
May 6, 2018, 11:00 PM EDT Updated on May 7, 2018, 7:59 AM EDT
Russian leader pledges breakthrough in Kremlin ceremony
Former finance minister may get top job but influence limited
Vladimir Putin was sworn in for the fourth time as president, promising Russians an economic and technological breakthrough and reappointing his long-serving prime minister amid the deepest standoff with the West in decades.
Despite Putins rhetoric, theres little appetite in the Kremlin for real changes, according to senior officials, as the growing tension with the U.S. and European Union has strengthened the hand of those arguing for self-reliance and an even greater role for state companies and financing. Those who argued for reducing the conflict in order to focus on economic development are on the defensive after four years of steadily increasing Western sanctions have isolated Russias biggest banks and companies from vital financing and technology.
Putin formally asked parliament to confirm Dmitry Medvedev to continue as prime minister, the job hes held since giving up the presidency to Putin in a job swap executed in 2012. Medvedev is expected to win confirmation easily this week.
Despite the doubling of oil prices over the last two years, Russia has struggled to get its economy back into high gear. Slow growth threatens to reverse Russias rise in the ranks of global economies under Putin and undermines the Kremlins ability to pay for its military buildup.
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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-07/putin-s-economic-ambitions-for-new-term-held-hostage-by-tensions