To make matters worse, Kiriyenko has handed a new weapon to those at the receiving end of his voodoo economics: By paying some wages to striking miners in order to lift their blockade of the countrys transport system, the government may have issued an invitation to civil disobedience to the hundreds of thousands of Russians lining up for unpaid government wages. Moscow looks set for a long, hot summer yet, and Kiriyenko may do more sweating than most.
Moscow's Voodoo Economics
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Either Sergei Kiriyenko is about to rewrite the laws of economics, or hes going to be chowing down on crow in the near future. Boris Yeltsins prime minister today promised to stabilize his countrys teetering economy with a budget plan that cuts government spending, increases revenue and gradually pays salaries to Russias legions of unpaid state employees. You cant do all three, says TIME Moscow correspondent Andrew Meier, especially when you insist you wont take bridging loans, wont devalue the ruble and wont print more money. Thats left Western investors asking just what is Kiriyenko planning to do.