INFLATION AT ALL-TIME LOW…

Chernomyrdin’s best news concerned inflation which, according to the official Russian Statistics Committee, dropped to 2.8 percent in February. (1) This is the lowest monthly figure since Russia began its economic reform in January 1992. Thanks to the policies of the reform wing of the Chernomyrdin government, inflation fell last year from 17.8 percent in January 1995 to 3.2 percent in December 1995. It went up in January this year to 4.1 percent.

…But Raises Specter of Protectionism…