KIEV -- The Ukrainian parliament voted to dismiss the entire government Thursday in an unexpected step just one day after the country's unpopular prime minister, Vitold Fokin, offered his resignation.


The parliament voted by 295 to 6 for a vote of no confidence, which under the Ukrainian Constitution forces the government to resign.


Fokin stepped down Wednesday under pressure from public anger over Ukraine's economic stagnation and falling living standards. President Leonid Kravchuk announced the move in parliament to applause and cheers, calling it a "bid to achieve peace". But it was not enough.


Kravchuk offered to replace 18 members of the 42 member cabinet, but argued against sacking the whole government. Parliament gave him 10 days to choose a new prime minister, subject to their approval, and a further 10 days to form a government.


A grim Fokin did not speak Wednesday but looked on as Kravchuk asked him to remain in his post until a replacement is found. He later told Reuters in an interview that he was the victim of a smear campaign by the "yellow press".


The opposition, which has blamed Fokin and the cabinet for obstructing economic reform, was not satisfied by the prime minister's sacrifice. "The whole government must resign", said Vyacheslav Chernovil, head of the opposition Rukh movement, after Wednesday's announcement.


With a conservative parliament calling the shots it is unlikely, however, that a new government will mean a radical change in policies.


"We're not rushing to put forward our candidate because we're sure that he won't be accepted by the old-guard parliament". Chernovil said. "Besides the next prime minister is a doomed man".


Rukh will now concentrate on gathering signatures for a referendum to call new parliamentary elections and dissolve a legislature they consider unrepresentative.


Fokin, 60, a former Communist head of the Gosplan state economic planning agency, and his government have been blamed for spiralling inflation and a decline in living standards.


Statistics for the first quarter of this year indicate a 15-percent fall in overall output and a 12-percent drop in industrial production.