Reactions to Yeltsin's 1998 Economic Speech 🇷🇺

(26 Feb 1998) T/I: 10:29:52


Russian politicians had mixed reactions to the speeches of President Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, which opened Thursday's (26/2) government meeting on the state of the country's economy. Chernomyrdin served notice that he would not tolerate further financial indiscipline, saying the continuing budget crisis must be resolved without delay. Yeltsin stirred up the meeting by threatening to sack three cabinet ministers who were failing to meet economic goals he has set, notably the payment of wage arrears to state sector workers.


SHOWS:

MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 26/2

WS White House exterior;
MS White House and Russian flag;
WS government hall;
MS President Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin approach podium;
CU Yeltsin sits down before address;
MS lobby at White House,
members of government milling about after session;
SOT, Gennady Zyuganov, Leader of Russian Communist Party, in Russian: "In Russia there has always been the tradition that the Tsar would get rid of those under him so that they could be scapegoats. And of course Yeltsin is following in this tradition by getting rid of there government members, who they will be we don't know yet, but there is nothing new from his speech he just simply went around the real problems.";
WS government members in lobby;
MS government members in lobby;
SOT, in Russian, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Leader of Liberal Democratic Party, in Russian: "I think that it would be better to find even a few more new ministers to renew the government. We need stricter policy from the President, they are all too soft and undecisive and so therefore uneffective. If we changed ten ministers it would be a movement ahead, but just to change 3 is an easy step. If they changed more ministers then by summer we would have a stonger government.";
MS government members in the lobby talking after Yeltsin speech;
SOT, in English, Yegor Gaidar, liberal Parliamentarian: "Of course there were problems and November and December of last year were not the best months but generally I hope the government will continue the work started previously.";
WS hall at White House;

1.52

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