Amid Crisis, New Russian Shake-Up of Cabinet Seen

After nearly six months of relative calm under Prime Minister Yevgeny M. Primakov, the Russian government appears headed for renewed turmoil as tension between the Kremlin and key ministers mounts and top officials hint at a Cabinet shake-up.

With President Boris N. Yeltsin frequently in the hospital and detached from day-to-day administration of the government, the economy has steadily deteriorated, and the ruble is now hovering at an all-time low of more than 23 to the dollar.

Russia will face a cash crunch in April when it is scheduled to start making $4.6 billion in foreign debt payments that it can scarcely afford. Some analysts say failure to pay back the loans would trigger the worst episode since the financial collapse in August that prompted Yeltsin to fire the government of Prime Minister Sergei V. Kiriyenko.

Primakov, who replaced Kiriyenko, has focused little on programs to revive the ever-shrinking economy and instead has made borrowing money from the International Monetary Fund the centerpiece of his fiscal program. But the IMF, after lending Russia about $20 billion since the collapse of the Soviet Union seven years ago, has resisted granting further loans until the government develops a sound economic program.

In recent days, Russia’s inability to secure new Western loans has sparked repeated calls from free-market advocates for the removal of First Deputy Prime Minister Yuri D. Maslyukov, who is responsible for the economy and is the highest-ranking Communist Party member in Primakov’s government. He also is the chief negotiator with the IMF.

“Regardless of the results of the progress in the negotiations with the IMF, the economic team of the government has proved its complete incompetence and should be replaced,” former First Deputy Prime Minister Boris G. Fedorov said Sunday in a televised interview.

Helping create the impression that Yeltsin may soon fire one or more ministers, the president’s deputy chief of staff said in a TV interview Saturday that Primakov has become too comfortable with the way his government is operating.

“It seems to me that Yevgeny Maximovich [Primakov] should be advised to be more critical of the performance of the government, because this position of complacency can make the prime minister and ourselves miss something that is of key importance,” said Deputy Chief of Staff Oleg N. Sysuyev. Yeltsin, he added ominously, “has no complacency about the government.”

Russia’s central government is losing its authority to such an extent that an Interior Ministry general was kidnapped from a commercial airplane Friday as he was about to depart from Chechnya, the tumultuous republic that won de facto independence during a devastating 20-month war with Russia. On Sunday, Interior Minister Sergei V. Stepashin threatened to use force against Chechnya to free the general.

Meanwhile, the economic turmoil and collapse of the banking system brought about by the August collapse continue to devastate the lives of millions of Russians. At a central Moscow bank Friday, a 66-year-old retired army colonel whose deposits were frozen during the crisis tried to withdraw funds at rifle point to pay for surgery for his wife. He got his money and surrendered, then was quickly arrested.

Despite his lack of action to improve the economy, Primakov has remained relatively popular. The former foreign minister and intelligence chief has also sought to consolidate his power within the government, placing loyal supporters in key positions. With Communists holding top jobs in his Cabinet, he has maintained the support of the Duma, or lower house of parliament, which is dominated by the Communist Party and its allies.

But increasingly, the Primakov government has come under criticism for doing little to solve the nation’s fundamental economic problems.

“The activities of the Communists in the government can be assessed in this way: They have been sitting in the government for six months and have produced absolutely nothing, have done nothing, have reached nothing, haven’t come to terms with anybody,” said Fedorov, who lost his deputy prime minister post in the August shake-up.

From the Moscow hospital where he is being treated for a bleeding ulcer, Yeltsin may have paved the way last week for dismissing Maslyukov or other members of Primakov’s Cabinet by calling for the ouster of billionaire Boris A. Berezovsky from his post as executive secretary of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the loose association of 12 former Soviet republics.

Berezovsky, one of Russia’s most hated men and a symbol of the excesses of the post-Soviet capitalist system, is widely believed to exercise great influence over the president and his family. His critics say he is a modern-day Rasputin who gives lavish gifts to Yeltsin family members, and he has allegedly served as their financial manager.

In recent weeks, Berezovsky has been locked in a power struggle with Primakov. The prime minister announced an anti-corruption campaign and criticized the tycoon for meddling in government affairs. Dozens of companies connected to Berezovsky were searched; one firm is under investigation for allegedly taping conversations of Yeltsin family members.

In return, a newspaper controlled by Berezovsky has regularly published articles accusing top Communist government officials connected to Primakov of engaging in corrupt deals worth millions of dollars.

On Thursday, Yeltsin called on the 11 other presidents of the commonwealth to join in firing Berezovsky as executive secretary. By publicly rebuking the billionaire, Yeltsin reduced one of his greatest political liabilities and put himself in a stronger position to shake up the Primakov government. Yeltsin is notoriously jealous of subordinates who become powerful, and it would be in keeping with his past practices to fire Primakov himself.

“President Yeltsin chopped off one head so far, but I am inclined to think that more heads are likely to roll at the other end of the political spectrum,” said Leonid A. Radzikhovsky, a columnist for the newspaper Sevodnya. “If Yeltsin sacks Maslyukov or some other Communists from the government tomorrow, no one will be able to say that it was the result of Berezovsky’s influence and intrigues.”

Asked whether Yeltsin might reshuffle the government, Sysuyev said that would be “the prerogative of the president. . . . It is impossible to guarantee any pattern here that could lead anyone to believe they are in the government forever.”

Although Yeltsin is largely incapacitated, Sysuyev said the president will get involved in talks to win a loan from the IMF if he decides his involvement is necessary.