Russian Prosecutor’s Ouster OKd

In a sign of the mood in Russia to sweep away the Yeltsin era and push ahead with change, the upper house of parliament voted Wednesday to dismiss the country’s suspended prosecutor general and to ratify the START II treaty.

Coming after an appeal by President-elect Vladimir V. Putin to dismiss Yuri I. Skuratov, the vote underscored Putin’s ability to push his changes through the lower and upper chambers of the parliament.

Last week, the lower house voted to ratify the arms-control treaty by an easy margin of 288 to 131. That margin of victory was wider than expected--also enhanced, apparently, by a last-minute appeal from Putin. The upper chamber’s 122-15 vote Wednesday was even more convincing.

Skuratov, who was suspended by then-President Boris N. Yeltsin last April after he launched an investigation into Kremlin corruption, had clung to his post for a year as the upper chamber repeatedly thwarted Yeltsin’s efforts to fire him.

When the president suspended him, Skuratov contended that the reason the Kremlin wanted him out was his investigation into high-level corruption, including allegations of a credit card scandal involving the Yeltsin family.

The Kremlin accused him of abuse of office after a video surfaced on Russian television showing a man who appeared to be Skuratov frolicking in bed with two naked women.

But Yeltsin’s move to oust Skuratov required confirmation by the upper chamber, the Federation Council, which three times refused to confirm the dismissal. On Wednesday, however, the council speedily dispatched the issue with barely half an hour’s discussion. Many members of the council attributed their change of heart to their support for Putin.

Addressing the council Wednesday, Skuratov said he was realistic about his fate and would accept the vote. Although he accepted the need to leave, Skuratov said he wouldn’t resign because that would send the wrong signals to his enemies, many of whom remain in the Kremlin.

“I would not want to make a concession to those people--criminals, in fact--who sought my removal and are still, unfortunately, among the president’s entourage,” he said, adding that he hopes they will be removed.

As prosecutor, Skuratov crossed the once-powerful oligarch Boris A. Berezovsky, who was widely seen as being close to the Yeltsin family and wielding influence in the Kremlin. Recent Russian media reports have speculated that Berezovsky’s power is waning and that he could face prosecution.

Skuratov also made enemies of Yeltsin’s daughter Tatyana Dyachenko when he started investigating allegations that a Swiss firm, Mabetex, had offered kickbacks to the Yeltsin family in return for Kremlin renovation contracts. The firm allegedly provided credit cards and a $1-million credit line to Dyachenko and her older sister, Yelena Okulov.

One member of the upper house, Gov. Alexander I. Lebed of the Krasnoyarsk region, said Wednesday that the lawmakers were fed up with the question of Skuratov’s future, which was a remnant of the past. Others echoed that view.

“I was telling Yuri Ilyich [Skuratov] at the previous session of the Federation Council that he would be better off becoming head of a research institute or accepting a post as ambassador somewhere,” said Yevgeny Nazdratenko, governor of the Maritime territory. “In any case, he should stop rocking the country the way he has been.”

Skuratov had alleged widespread corruption within the Russian government, saying in a September interview that 780 high-ranking current and former officials were under investigation for improper trading in government treasury bills.