CHERNOMYRDIN PROMISES TO PAY WAGE AND PENSION ARREARS BY YEAR’S END.

Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin told the upper house of the Russian parliament yesterday that the government will pay wage and pension arrears to state-employees by the end of this month. The only exception will be arrears to the military, which, he promised, will be paid off in January 1997. (Itar-Tass, BBC World Service, December 10) Although there were signs yesterday that the eight-day nationwide miners’ strike was beginning to wane, the government seems to have been alarmed by the outbreak of wildcat strikes — of teachers, nurses and power workers — all over the country. Chernomyrdin did not say where the Kremlin would find the money, but insisted that the government would resist the temptation to print it. Russia’s recent eurobond issue exceeded expectations, tax receipts are said to be going up, and the government has hopes that the IMF will soon decide to unfreeze payment of its extended loan to Russia.

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