MOSCOW — When Boris Yeltsin left the Kremlin eight years ago, he gave Vladimir Putin the pen he had used to sign important documents and decrees, a gesture symbolizing the transfer of power to Russia’s new president.
When Putin left the Kremlin, he took the pen with him.
Putin, who became prime minister Thursday, has signaled that he intends to remain Russia’s principal leader, at least in the short term — and possibly much longer. He is keeping the trappings of his presidency and many of its powers as well.
In a fervent 45-minute speech Thursday before parliament, Putin laid out ambitions for the economy and boasted that Russia under his leadership “had not just changed but become a different country.”
He was approved by a vote of 392-56, with only the Communists opposing him.
