Putin changes jobs; Russia boots U.S. envoys

MOSCOW — Former President Vladimir Putin was appointed Russia's prime minister Thursday, securing a new place in power a day after leaving the Kremlin.

Forced out of the presidency by constitutional term limits, Putin on Wednesday handed off his title to a longtime protégé, Dmitry Medvedev, who in turn nominated his old boss as prime minister.

Ever since anointing his successor, Putin has hovered at Medvedev's side during meetings and public appearances. Both men have insisted they plan to run the country as a cooperative project.

"All the previous years we've been working together, and we'll continue to work together," Medvedev told the lower house of parliament Thursday. "There's no doubt that our tandem, our cooperation, will only grow stronger."

Later Thursday, Russia announced it was booting out two American military attachés who worked at the U.S. Embassy here, the State Department said.

The expulsion put a belligerent start to this nebulous new regime, feeding into the questions of power and character hanging over Russia's leaders. But it was not clear who ordered the expulsion or why it was timed on Medvedev's first full day in office. Russian officials had no comment.

The action was the latest in an exchange of diplomatic expulsions in which two Russians and three Americans have been sent home since November. Sean McCormack, the chief State Department spokesman, said there were no plans for a U.S. response and refused to say whether the expulsions were connected. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates said at a separate briefing that "reciprocity" probably played a role.

"There are some intriguing developments in Moscow," Gates said. "But I don't read much into the attaché thing other than just the usual tit-for-tat."

Some analysts had predicted Medvedev would emerge as a more liberal and pro-Western ruler than Putin, who has sparred vigorously with the United States, Europe and some of the former Soviet republics.

Others dismissed Medvedev as a puppet who will mask Putin's ongoing rule.

But Medvedev is now in a more powerful position than his longtime mentor. And in a country where the tradition of a single, dominant ruler is deeply ingrained, many are questioning whether the two men will clash as Medvedev strives to take charge.

Speaking Thursday before the lower house, or State Duma, Putin stuck carefully to the domestic, bread-and-butter issues that traditionally have been tended by the prime minister.

The lawmakers listened attentively, bursting into regular fits of applause, as Putin gave a lengthy, forceful list of social and economic policy suggestions, ranging from anti-drinking programs to lowered inflation to tax cuts for the oil sector.

Afterward, the lawmakers voted 392-56 to approve Putin's appointment. Only the Communists failed to back the former president.

Putin's nomination never was in doubt. His party, United Russia, holds more than three-quarters of the Duma seats.

Thursday's debate was the final, theatrical exercise in the long-guaranteed ascension to the job he chose for himself.