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Yeltsin pleased with rapid passage of Russian budget
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December 15, 1996
Web posted at: 9:00 p.m. EST (0200 GMT)MOSCOW (CNN) -- Boris Yeltsin got an early Christmas present Sunday when Russia's parliament approved the 1997 budget on its first reading.
The relatively smooth budget passage was a marked departure from the contentious disputes that have marred relations between Yeltsin and the communist and opposition-dominated lower house of parliament, or state Duma.
The 450-member body Sunday voted 263-111, with eight abstentions, to approve the broad outlines of the budget.
The beleaguered Kremlin leadership was obviously relieved at the new spirit of cooperation.
"I am satisfied," said Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. "In our country we have so many problems, we need to work like this all the time."
Myriad difficulties
Indeed, Russia suffers from myriad difficulties that would prove difficult for even the wealthiest governments.
For instance, Russian coal miners have not been paid in months, with some still on strike. Pensioners and teachers also are still unpaid.
Not surprisingly, there is not enough money in the treasury to cover the new budget, which calls for spending 434.4 trillion rubles. The deficit will run slightly more than 95 billion rubles, or 3.5 percent of gross domestic product.
Even with a deficit, Chernomyrdin predicted the budget would stimulate the economy, spurring economic growth of 2 percent in 1997 -- a mark the Russian economy has failed to match this year.
Yeltsin managed to overcome several attempts to derail the budget's passage. Opponents tried to force a vote on just a quarter-budget instead of the whole year's budget, a departure for a country used to approving five- and 10-year economic plans.
Communists demanded the removal of Kremlin chief of staff Anatoly Chubais, but that effort failed.
In a bid to win the opposition's support, Chernomyrdin vowed to pay most government debts and create an investment fund.
Lobbying not over
But the lobbying over the budget isn't over.
The Russian space agency will be fighting for money to finance its part of the Alpha International Space Station, in partnership with the U.S. and Japan.
And communists are continuing to demand payment of back wages and pensions.
"If the government fails to fulfill these conditions, the Communist party reserves the right to vote against the budget in subsequent readings," said Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, who threatened a program of "civil disobedience and protest across the whole country."
Despite the treats, communists for the most part backed away from confrontation in favor of compromise. "The style of work characterized by confrontation with the executive power does not take us anywhere. We need to change our style," said Yuri Maslyukov, a leading communist and chairman of the Duma committee for economic policy.
That's clearly an approach Yeltsin welcomes. "The whole country now won because of such a reasonable approach," said the Russian president.
Correspondent Betsy Aaron and Reuters contributed to this report.
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- Yeltsin, Russian economy, both trying to recover - November 22, 1996
- Russia debuts on NYSE - November 15, 1996
- Playing Russian roulette - November 7, 1996
- Investors can now tap Eastern Europe, but the risks are many - September 19, 1996
Related sites:
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- Institute for the Study of Russian Economy
- Economics/Business in Russia/NIS
- Interfax Homepage (Russian News Service)
- ITAR-Tass Homepage (Russian News Service)
- Russia Today
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