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Yeltsin, Russian parliament showdown postponed

Chubais and Yeltsin October 15, 1997
Web posted at: 11:49 a.m. EDT (1549 GMT)

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Russia's State Duma postponed a parliamentary no-confidence vote Wednesday after President Boris Yeltsin made a surprising last-ditch appeal for compromise. Yeltsin had warned that the vote would hurt the Russian economy and place parliament on the road to dissolution. The vote was delayed until next week.

Earlier in the day, First Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Chubais issued his own warning in a speech to government officials, saying, "The deputies in several weeks will have either to drop their decision or get ready for a fresh election."

"Our experts have calculated that we would immediately lose between $300 and $400 million," predicted Chubais, who is also finance minister and a mastermind of the government's economic reforms.

The State Duma, or lower house of parliament, had been debating the no-confidence motion, which was proposed by the opposition Communists over the government's "bankrupt" economic policy. Yeltsin's 1998 budget would slash government spending.

The Duma

The Communists, who have about 140 deputies in the Duma, said they were confident they could muster enough support among opposition forces to get the 226 votes needed for the no-confidence motion to pass in the 450-seat chamber.

The outcome of the vote was still in the balance just hours before the debate, with the government talking tough in public but trying to reach a compromise behind the scenes.

The liberal opposition Yabloko bloc added to the uncertainty by objecting to the wording of the no-confidence motion prepared by the Communists.

Yabloko, whose 46 votes could decide the government's fate, proposed its own no-confidence resolution, and it was not clear how its members would vote if the motion were not amended.

Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, an advocate of moderate economic reform, has made clear he will resign after nearly five years in office if he loses the vote.

The man the Communists really are gunning for is Chubais, whom they blame for the suffering many Russians have endured because of reforms.

Not the final word

Yeltsin, who backs Chernomyrdin, cannot dissolve the Duma if it passes just one no-confidence vote, but can do so if it passes another one in the next three months.

Chubais and Chernomyrdin

The government has stepped up reforms since Chernomyrdin and Yeltsin instigated a gradual reshuffle last February, which promoted more radical reformers such as Chubais.

Government officials say Russia is poised for economic growth, nearly six years after the Soviet Union collapsed, and that reforms are finally starting to bear fruit.

But Martian Gilman, an International Monetary Fund resident representative in Moscow, said the situation remained "extremely difficult," because low revenues were putting pressure on the budget.

Ironically, ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a constant critic of Yeltsin, warned that the no-confidence vote could backfire on the Communists.

"Things are really bad today, but why should the parliament destroy itself?" he asked.

Zhirinovsky also said he would not vote against the government, because he opposes new elections.

Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty and Reuters contributed to this report.

 
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