Russian Economy On Track Despite Yeltsin Worries

Yasin said Russia was meeting the conditions of a $10 billion, three-year loan agreed upon this year with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

We were able to state that the basic conditions of this programme are fundamentally being fulfiled, Yasin said in an interview during the annual IMF and World Bank meeting.

Some economists have said the uncertainty linked with the health of the president, who is awaiting heart surgery, is having a negative impact on the Russian economy. Markets have also been unnerved by speculation of a power struggle in the Kremlin, particularly between Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and national security chief Alexander Lebed, during Yeltsin's absence from political centre stage.

 

Shares fell sharply on news last month that Yeltsin needed heart surgery and some analysts say political uncertainty was hurting the rouble's exchange rate against the dollar. Yasin said some ministers, including members of the Group of Seven rich industrial states, had raised the issue during meetings in Washington. Our answer was that it is uncertain but we expressed our assurance that all will be well, he said. But the minister acknowledged that Russia still had problems, the biggest of which was poor tax collection.

This, in turn, contributed to a payments crisis that affects many branches of the economy. Inflation in Russia has been slashed from its once dizzying heights, while output