Prime Minister of Russia
In May 1992, Boris Yeltsin appointed Chernomyrdin as deputy prime minister in charge of fuel and energy.
On 14 December 1992, Chernomyrdin was confirmed by the VII Congress of People's Deputies of Russia as Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.
In April 1995, he formed a political bloc called Our Home – Russia, which was aimed at becoming the central force in the parliament, but failed in this, gaining only 10% of votes.
On 18 June 1995, as a result of Shamil Basayev-led terrorists taking over 1500 people hostage in Budyonnovsk, negotiations between Chernomyrdin and Basayev led to a compromise which became a turning point for the First Chechen War. In exchange for the hostages, the Russian government agreed to halt military actions in Chechnya and begin a series of negotiations.
He was Acting President of the Russian Federation for 23 hours on 6 November 1996, when Boris Yeltsin was undergoing a heart operation.
Chernomyrdin remained prime minister until his sudden dismissal on 23 March 1998. Following the 1998 Russian financial crisis in August, Yeltsin re-appointed Chernomyrdin as prime minister, and attempted to designate him as his successor. However, the Duma twice refused to confirm Chernomyrdin as the head of the government. Rather than to risk the third rejection and thus to force the dissolution of the parliament and political crisis, the President opted to propose a more popular Yevgeny Primakov as the new Prime Minister.
Read more about this topic: Viktor Chernomyrdin
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