In this story:

• Confirmation expected
• 'Russia has had enough upheavals'
• Expertise in international relations, not economics
• Ruble rebound?
• Related stories and sites

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Facing a showdown with parliament, Russian President Boris Yeltsin nominated a compromise candidate for prime minister on Thursday, picking his former spy chief, Yevgeny Primakov, to head emergency efforts to stem Russia's economic crisis.

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Primakov's plans for accomplishing that are not known.

Primakov, now Russia's acting foreign minister, became Yeltsin's candidate after his first choice, Viktor Chernomyrdin, asked not to be nominated a third time. Chernomyrdin was twice rejected by the State Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, which is dominated by Yeltsin critics, mainly Communists.

"In view of the repeated rejection of (Chernomyrdin)... I ask the State Duma to confirm the appointment of Yevgeny Maximovich Primakov as chairman of the government," Yeltsin said in a brief letter.

Primakov was one of several compromise names for the prime minister's post touted in recent days but had disavowed any interest in the job. The reason for his change of mind was not immediately clear.

Primakov, seen here last month with U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, is a veteran diplomat, well-known in the world's capitals

Opposition and pro-government political leaders promptly welcomed Primakov's nomination, predicting the lower chamber of parliament, the State Duma, would approve him.

A confirmation vote could take place as early as Friday.

"I think he will get the Duma's support. Common sense has prevailed in our state," said Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, who led parliament's opposition to Chernomyrdin.

Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznyov, also a Communist, agreed that Primakov was likely to be approved.

Primakov also has the backing of the liberal Yabloko movement and is widely admired by many nationalists, despite being a Yeltsin ally.

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The only opposition came from nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky of the Liberal Democratic Party, who castigated Primakov as an American puppet.

Had Chernomyrdin been nominated for a third time, the Communists had said they would continue to oppose him, even though a third rejection would have triggered the dissolution of the Duma -- a scenario which Yeltsin's allies and critics say could lead to social upheaval.

Yeltsin announced the nomination after meeting in the Kremlin with Primakov and Chernomyrdin.

Chernomyrdin said he asked Yeltsin not to renominate him after the two crushing defeats in parliament. "I cannot harm Russia. Russia has had enough upheavals this century. This is my choice," Chernomyrdin said.

He said he backed Primakov's nomination.

Yeltsin and the Duma have been locked in a bitter two-week battle over the premier's post that stalled the formation of a new government.

Chernomyrdin earlier served as prime minister for five years and has held the post on an acting basis since August 23. Many Russians blame him for the country's economic problems.

Primakov, 68, a former Soviet international policy expert, is seen as a technocrat, not ideologically linked to any political faction. He also has no presidential ambitions -- an important factor in his selection.

He has been criticized in the West for taking a less liberal line on international relations, showing support for Iraq and other regimes at odds with the West.

He was named foreign minister in January 1996 and has been praised by most of Russia's political factions for doing a good job.

But it was not clear if he would be able to do much to fix the country's economic crisis. Although seen as a competent administrator, his field of expertise is international relations, not economic policy.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev picked him as one of his closest aides during the reform period of the 1980s.

He briefly was first deputy director of the KGB, the main Soviet security organization, but it is widely reported he was linked to the organization for years. Primakov later headed Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service.

Russia's political stalemate has exacerbated Russia's economic collapse, reflected in rising prices and a spread of emergency measures, such as price controls, in some regions of the country.

Surprisingly, however, the country's tattered currency, the ruble, continued to bounce back on Thursday.

Rubles, which were selling at about 20 to the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, rose in street sales to as strong as 10 to the dollar, although rates varied widely.

International currency dealers said the improved rate suggested that people had exhausted their ruble supply in panic buying and had begun to exchange their dollar savings.

Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

"Resurrection: The Struggle for a New Russia" by David Remnick "Russia: A History" by Gregory L. Freeze "The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are so Rich and Some so Poor" by David S. Landes "The Price of the past: Russia's Struggle with the Legacy of a Militarized Economy" by Clifford G. Gaddy "The Barefoot Shoemaker: Capitalizing on the New Russia" by Vladimir Kvint,Natalºdi8a Darºdi8alova Click here for additional reading on Russia (Federation)