Keep Russia Probe Nonpartisan

Russia’s unfinished economic reforms have failed to stop the country from sinking into poverty, and the ever-unpopular government of President Boris N. Yeltsin seems unable to do anything about it. Added to the country’s woes are recent allegations of corruption implicating Yeltsin himself and suspicions that Western aid has ended up going to Russian criminals. So it comes as no surprise that the U.S. Senate and House want to look into the matter.

That’s proper. It’s time for the United States and other major countries to take a measure of Russia’s corruption. Some leading Republicans are hoping to score early election points by turning the hearings into a partisan broadside at the Clinton administration’s Russia policy. Others in Washington are urging that Russia be written off as a hopeless cause. But neither partisan finger-pointing nor “disengaging” from Russia would help. Rep. James A. Leach (R-Iowa), whose House Banking Committee will begin hearings Tuesday, struck the right tone when he said he does not want the inquiry to turn into partisan wrangling. Rather, he wants to focus on ways the West should respond to Russia’s “kleptocratic situation” while continuing to support democracy there.

Washington for quite some time has known that billions of dollars for Russia, from both public and private sources, vanish into foreign accounts each year, and the FBI has been investigating allegations that as much as $10 billion has been laundered through the Bank of New York. The International Monetary Fund, which has pumped some $22 billion into Russia since 1991, has long been aware of the illegal diversion of money. Yet, up until the most recent revelations the Clinton administration had expressed unreserved support for Yeltsin.

The Washington-based Institute for International Finance estimates that as much as $138 billion has fled the country since 1991. Most of that money, however, belongs to oil companies and other exporters trying to avoid paying Russian taxes or protecting their capital from economic uncertainty at home.

Both the IMF and the U.S. Treasury said better safeguards are needed if new money is to flow into Russia.

Despite its difficulties, Russia is a valuable partner to the United States on many fronts, and it will need financial help even though there’s been a recent rise in industrial production. Aid will be a crucial element of the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. The congressional hearings should focus on how this can be done and not add heat to the incendiary debate on “Who lost Russia?”