SHAREHOLDERS FIRE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF MAJOR RUSSIAN AUTO COMPANY.

Shareholders at ZIL (the Moscow Likhachev Motor Plant), once one of Russia’s largest and most prestigious automobile manufacturers, last week dismissed its president and general director, Aleksandr Yefanov. (10) The company has had serious financial difficulties since 1994, when it came close to bankruptcy, and its output has fallen sharply. The shareholders council accused Yefanov of incompetence and of wasting credits granted by the state for company restructuring. In action seen as an example of greater shareholder assertiveness in Russia’s newly privatized industries, the council replaced Yefanov with his deputy, Viktor Novikov. However, the company remains threatened by an attempted takeover on the part of the Moscow city government — Mayor Yuri Luzhkov has called for ZIL to be renationalized and placed under the control of the municipality. Meanwhile, at Russia’s largest auto plant, AvtoVAZ, Aleksei Nikolaev was appointed president and general director in place of Vladimir Kadannikov, who last week was named first deputy prime minister in place of Anatoly Chubais.

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