Primakov Implores Rivals to ‘Calm Down’

Russia’s increasingly powerful prime minister, Yevgeny M. Primakov, tried to cool the country’s feverish political climate Saturday, insisting that he is not scheming to become president and pleading with politicians to end their damaging “war by scandal.”

“Calm down,” Primakov said in an unusual videotaped message broadcast on national television. “I have no ambitions or desire to run for president.”

Primakov, who was seen as a force of stability when he became prime minister in September, has in recent months been at the center of a dark Kremlin power struggle.

The political battles threaten to further destabilize Russia at a particularly volatile time, with anti-Western feeling running high over NATO’s bombing of Yugoslavia and an impeachment vote coming this week against President Boris N. Yeltsin.

“Primakov decided to come on TV and talk to the Russian people today because the premier understands how closely Russia has approached the critical point, the point of an open clash between the [Communist] opposition on the one hand and President Yeltsin and his regime on the other,” said Sergei A. Markov, director of the Institute of Political Studies.

The intrigues have already claimed several prominent victims. One was the country’s top prosecutor, who appeared to be the star of a pornographic video released to TV stations. Another was tycoon and former presidential aide Boris A. Berezovsky, whose fortune and influence have waned and who now faces arrest on money-laundering charges.

Primakov termed the power struggle a “war of kompromat”--a Russian word that means compromising or scandalous material.

While it remains unclear exactly who is battling whom and for what, many of the moves have served to strengthen Primakov’s position, prompting speculation that the former intelligence chief and foreign minister has been pulling political levers behind the scenes and may have his eye on Yeltsin’s job.

Prognosticators have suggested that the power struggle could come to a head this week, when parliament’s lower house is scheduled to vote on five articles of impeachment against Yeltsin.

While the impeachment proceedings have little chance of unseating the president, Yeltsin has been visibly irked by the process, and some have speculated that he could try to block it by taking some drastic action, such as firing Primakov or outlawing the Communist Party.

The prime minister’s growing influence also has appeared to annoy Yeltsin, who jealously guards his presidential prerogatives.

Indeed, Yeltsin issued what many observers considered a veiled warning to Primakov on Friday in the guise of a statement of support.

“Don’t believe these rumors about my plans to fire Primakov,” Yeltsin said in televised remarks. “It’s nothing but speculation and rumor. I believe that Primakov is useful at this stage, and later we shall see.”

The fact that Primakov was out sick at the time, home for a second day to heal a sore back, heightened the impression that Yeltsin was suggesting that the prime minister might one day be dispensable.

Primakov responded by going back to work the next day and taping the 12-minute national address, which reviewed his achievements, denounced the impeachment drive as “irresponsible and dangerous,” and made reference to Yeltsin’s comments.

“I am not trying to cling to the post of prime minister, especially since a deadline on my term has been set. Today I am useful, and as for tomorrow, we shall see,” Primakov said. He did not smile.

Markov called Primakov’s comment an “audacious bout of sarcasm” designed to demonstrate his authority. But he also said that Primakov’s statements about not seeking the presidency might be true.

“Primakov has to make sure that he has been a success as premier, and then the presidency will automatically fall into his hands,” Markov said.