President Boris Yeltsin plotted strategy at his Gorky-9 residence outside Moscow yesterday at the start of a vital week in Russian politics which could end with parliament voting itself into oblivion.
The opposition-dominated State Duma (lower house of parliament) must meet no later than Friday to decide whether to endorse Mr Yeltsin's nominee, Mr Sergei Kiriyenko, as prime minister.
The Duma has twice rejected Mr Kiriyenko (35), and Mr Yeltsin has said he will use his constitutional powers to dissolve the chamber if it opposes the former banker a third time.
Mr Kiriyenko, chosen by Mr Yeltsin to liven up market reforms, has refused to bargain over the essence of his economic programme or unveil his cabinet just for the sake of winning over the Duma. Mr Yeltsin has the right to install any prime minister he wants if the Duma is dissolved, and can rule by decree for up to four months until a new election.
Mr Yeltsin's aides and the understated Mr Kiriyenko seem quietly confident sufficient opposition deputies have understood this to give him the necessary 226 votes.
"The president is reviewing Russian internal and foreign policy," a spokesman for the presidential press service said, declining to give any other details. But Mr Yeltsin (67), was likely to be resting after returning from a weekend summit in Japan, as well as preparing for the vital week ahead.
Mr Yeltsin's press secretary, Mr Sergei Yastrzhembsky, said the president was pleased by his talks with the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Ryutaro Hashimoto. But the talks failed to end a long-running dispute over four islands seized by Soviet troops in the last days of the second World War.
Japanese newspapers said Tokyo had proposed drawing up a new demarcation line north of the four Kuril islands, in effect putting them in Japan's hands, but Mr Yastrzhembsky dismissed the idea.