ECONOMIES

Good News for U.S., Bad News for Russia: The United States can expect a slight economic gain this year, but the former Soviet republics could be headed for economic collapse and need much more help from the West, according to a United Nations report. The U.N. Economic Commission for Europe’s assessment was generally gloomy. It said a depression in some parts of Eastern Europe is worse than in the 1930s, though Poland and Hungary could begin a modest recovery in the second half of 1992. For the United States, the agency forecast a revival of economic growth--to 1.8% this year after a 0.7% drop in 1991. Western Europe was expected to post 1.5% growth, up from 1% last year.