Duma confirms Fradkov as premier

Mr Fradkov was seen as a surprise choice when first selected as PM

The lower house of the Russian parliament has overwhelmingly confirmed Mikhail Fradkov as prime minister.

The vote was a technicality; President Vladimir Putin had to dismiss his government before he was sworn in for a second term in office last Friday.

Within hours of the ceremony, Mr Putin had nominated Mr Fradkov as his choice to continue as prime minister.

Mr Fradkov, a Kremlin loyalist, was first appointed in March after the dismissal of Mikhail Kasyanov.

Mr Kasyanov's sacking was widely seen as another step in the purging of officials from the era of former President Boris Yeltsin.

Poverty pledge

The State Duma, dominated by pro-Kremlin lawmakers, voted 356 to 72 with eight abstentions to approve Mr Fradkov to head the Cabinet.

Mr Fradkov is a former trade minister and Moscow's representative to the European Union, and is expected to toe the presidential line on policy.

The appointment of Mr Fradkov - an obscure bureaucrat - initially came as a surprise to Russian media, with one newspaper dubbing him "Mr Who?".

Mr Fradkov told lawmakers on Wednesday his priority was to tackle poverty - which afflicts some 20% of Russians.

Mr Fradkov said the government had to come up with "a specific and realistic social package including the most important social services in housing, health care and education."

But Mr Fradkov suggested the new policies would be moderate and would not contain reforms that would offend business.

"The key point is that such a package should be acceptable both for the population, the state and the employers, that is, for business," he said in a speech broadcast by Radio Russia.