Soviet Déjà Vu

MOSCOW: Yevgeny Primakov's nomination as prime minister sailed through the Duma Friday, but don't expect Wall Street to cheer. Indeed, by choosing a former head of Soviet central planning as his economic chief, Primakov couldn't have dismayed investors more. Even before his confirmation, Primakov named Yuri Maslyukov, former head of the state planning agency GOSPLAN, as his deputy prime minister in charge of the economy. "Maslyukov is an old apparatchik -- a far cry from Chubais, Kiriyenko and others who knew some macroeconomics," says TIME Moscow correspondent Andrew Meier. "If Western bankers were scared before, they won't find any cause for comfort in the appointment of a man who learned his economics in GOSPLAN."

The appointment signals Primakov's intention to draw the Communist opposition into a governing coalition. As if to underscore the point, the new prime minister also promised to restore Soviet-era central bank chief Viktor Gerashchenko to his old position. The IMF is delaying the next $4 billion installment of its Russian bailout pending the formation of a new government, and Primakov's appointments aren't likely to loosen the purse strings.