Former Prime Minister Vows Russia Will Prosper

Former Russian prime minister Sergei V. Kiriyenko spoke yesterday afternoon about his country's economic woes and provided insight into Russian politics before a large crowd in Science Center B in an event sponsored by the Davis Institute for Russian Studies.

Speaking through a translator, Kiriyenko, a technocrat and banker whose political life began only a few years ago, remarked several times on the dirty side of running Russia.

He said the anti-crisis economic reform package was voted down by the Duma, the Russian parliament, not because of an objection to the fundamentals of the proposal, but because politicians were concerned about keeping their seats in the upcoming elections.

Kiriyenko's term as prime minister lasted from late March to late August of this year. He was replaced by the very man he ousted from office five months earlier, Viktor Chernomyrdin.

"If I learned anything in the five months in office, it's that economic problems are really political problems," he said.

In one of several colorful illustrations during the evening, Kiriyenko compared Russia's reform process to "a car with manual transmission [which] has five, six drives to go forward but only one to go back." Reverse, as he saw it, was reinstating a totalitarian regime to settle Russia's economic woes, while forward gears offered many avenues of reform.

One major obstacle in attaining these reforms is the loss of confidence in the government by the Russian people, he said.

The former prime minister cited an "unscientific" poll that concluded 70 percent of the voters in one Russian city view the government as enemies of the people.

"People have lost trust in all political elites--no matter where they stand in the political spectrum," he said.

Kiriyenko reported the results of another poll, stating, "61 percent of the populace feels it does not need the paternalistic view by their government."

He said although the Russian people have shifted left in their politics "on the surface," the nation will not revert to the "old system" of communism because the majority of the population oppose the essence of that system.

Despite the current dismal economic situation in Russia, Kiriyenko said he was optimistic about his country's future.

"My personal conclusion after having run the Russian government for five months is that there are no fundamental irresolvable economic problems," he said.

"Every great nation can withstand anything. It will spring back and will flower," he said.