INTERNATIONAL

Yeltsin Fires Central Bank Chief: President Boris N. Yeltsin’s move was aimed to appease parliament but instead raised questions about Russia’s commitment to lowering inflation. Central Bank Chairwoman Tatyana Paramonova has been credited with tight monetary policies that have helped bring inflation to record lows and stabilize the ruble for the first time since 1992. Paramonova was temporarily replaced by her first deputy, Alexander Khandruyev, a man believed to be less committed to tight money. How long he will remain at the helm is unknown. The reshuffle comes at a tense time for the Russian economy, now showing the first real signs of stabilization since the beginning of market reforms in 1992. The government is negotiating up to $12 billion in new International Monetary Fund loans and is trying to get the 1996 budget through the Russian Parliament before Dec. 17 elections.