In other blows to Yeltsin yesterday, the ruble crashed again dramatically and the Central Bank chair offered to quit. Some Russians flocked to stores to buy goods before prices shoot up any higher.
''The economic crisis is gaining momentum with catastrophic speed,'' acting Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin warned the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, before it torpedoed his nomination 273-138.
''We are all standing on the edge and no time is left for settling scores,'' he said. ''We must begin acting.''
The vote sets the stage for a final confrontation between the president and his opponents. Yeltsin must decide whether to nominate Chernomyrdin again or find another candidate. If the Duma rejects Yeltsin's choice a third time, the constitution requires the president to dissolve parliament and call new elections within three months.
Russia has been operating with an interim government for two weeks, since Yeltsin brought Chernomyrdin back after firing him in March. Chernomyrdin's efforts to win confirmation by parliament have left him little time to devote to the worst economic crisis since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Both Yeltsin and Chernomyrdin met with leaders of the parliamentary factions at the Kremlin before the vote, but there was no breakthrough and the president offered only a few symbolic concessions.
The president suggested that the parliament confirm Chernomyrdin, and then assess his performance after a ''trial period'' of six to eight months.
Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said his party, the largest in the Duma, would never accept Chernomyrdin. He complained that Chernomyrdin picked up 44 more votes yesterday than on the first vote Aug. 31. He needs 226 votes to be approved.
The Communists and their allies say they have nine candidates, including several top Soviet-era bureaucrats.
Trading in dollars was canceled on Moscow's currency exchange because people only wanted to buy dollars, not sell them. Street exchange points remained open and were offering to buy dollars at about 20 to 22 rubles.
''Everyone is waiting for the confirmation of the prime minister and the announcement of a new economic program,'' said acting deputy premier Boris Fyodorov. ''If there are no offers, the (ruble) price can be anything.''
09-08-98
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