Yeltsin Shuffles Economic Staff; Change in Strategy Is Denied
Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin reorganized his government Thursday, relieving First Deputy Prime Minister Yegor T. Gaidar of his lesser post as finance minister but retaining him as the key architect of Russia’s ambitious economic reform program.
“This decision will only serve to strengthen the economic reforms,” Sergei Kolesnikov, Gaidar’s economic adviser, said in a telephone interview. “Gaidar will be able to concentrate on his work as first deputy prime minister.”
News of Gaidar’s replacement caused some media speculation that Yeltsin might be planning to reverse his reform strategy less than 24 hours after the West showed its unequivocal support for his policies by announcing a $24-billion assistance package. But such conjectures were refuted.
Vasily V. Barchuk, 51, deputy finance minister under Gaidar, was promoted to the top post.
“Barchuk is a career financier and until today worked as Gaidar’s first deputy,” Kolesnikov said. “This change at the top of the Finance Ministry does not mean any change in the fiscal policy of Russia.”
Gaidar’s radical strategy to pump life into the Russian economy, which has resulted in astronomical price boosts, has earned him many critics in the halls of Russia’s Parliament as well as in the country’s grocery stores.
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