Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 From: Fred Weir in Moscow For the Hindustan Times MOSCOW (HT Sept 1) -- Russia's warring politicians are accusing each other of inciting chaos and popular revolt following parliament's rejection of Viktor Chernomyrdin as prime minister. But a street survey of average Russians in downtown Moscow Monday found them furious with their leaders but disinclined to take to the streets. ``It's sickening to watch this happening. Schoolchildren are generally smarter and better behaved than these politicians,'' said Galina Polischuk, a 50-year old primary school principal. ``The country is in a terrible state. Children are going hungry and teachers aren't being paid, and all they have for us is conflict and bombast. I wish they would all go to hell.'' Russia's fragile economy has been unravelling for weeks, and ordinary Russians have begun to feel the pain. After the rouble was devalued, peoples' savings evaporated and prices jumped. A wave of bank failures has added to the general sense of collapse. But the crisis became a full-blown political one Monday when the Communist-led State Duma rejected President Boris Yeltsin's appointment of Mr. Chernomyrdin as prime minister. That is not the last word -- the Duma must vote three times on the issue -- but it means the country is left without a legitimate government while politicians battle and the economy nosedives. ``If this chaos lasts for several more weeks, it may happen that there will be neither Communists nor us,'' Mr. Yeltsin's parliamentary representative Alexander Kotenkov said Monday, urging the Duma to vote for Mr. Chernomyrdin. ``I mean popular uprising, merciless and senseless.'' Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov also invoked the spectre of mass revolt if Yeltsin refuses to give parliament the additional constitutional powers it wants to deal with the crisis. ``If we fail to reach an agreement here, everything will spill out onto the streets,'' Mr. Zyuganov said. But Ms. Polischuk says that's nonesense. ``I don't know what it's like in other parts of Russia, but no one here wants to turn a terrible situation into catastrophe,'' she said. ``Revolution won't solve anything. A little bit of sensible cooperation and hard work by politicians just might.'' Moscow has fared better in post-Soviet years than much of the country, because it is the seat of power and has received the lion's share of foreign investment. But the new middle class, which has suffered disproportionately in the financial meltdown, is heavily concentrated in Moscow. If their mood were to turn ugly the consequences could be far worse than any isolated revolt in Russia's far-flung provinces. ``Stability in a few big cities, like Moscow, is crucial to the survival of the Yeltsin government,'' says Alexander Konovalov, an expert at the independent Institute of Strategic Assessments. ``If this crisis brings financial ruin to the majority in those cities, it could bring people into the streets. It would be very close to a revolutionary situation.'' But only one of ten Muscovites questioned Monday said the hour to rise up has already struck. ``We have been humiliated for years by this gang of thieves,'' said Serafima Nikolayeva, a 70-year old pensioner who said she's been a Communist all her life. ``Let Zyuganov give the call, and I'm ready to fight at any time.'' Nikolai Bordovoi, a 34-year old bank worker, agreed that something radical should be done to end the country's tailspin, but said that mass action is not the way. ``I believe a strong man is needed to straighten things out,'' he said. ``That's the Russian way. And if a strong man seizes power and starts to do what's needed here, I will support him.'' Most others said they were too disgusted with politics in general, too exhausted by years of turmoil or too absorbed in the daily struggle for survival to think about taking to the streets. Analysts say the absence of any opposition force with mass support, and a perceived lack of credible alternatives to integrating Russia with the capitalist world market, are major reasons today's situation -- though it is dire -- is not yet verging on social explosion. ``I hate Yeltsin and I hate Chernomyrdin, but I hate the Communists more,'' said Yevgeny Kramer, a 26-year old music student. ``They are all stupid, but revolution is more stupid. ``I feel sorry for Russia, that it has no leaders who can rise to meet this crisis. I really fear a disaster is coming. But when it does I'll be home with my family, not in the streets shouting.'' -- Gregory Schwartz Dept. of Political Science York University 4700 Keele St. Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3 Canada Tel: (416) 736-5265 Fax: (416) 736-5686 Web: http://www.yorku.ca/dept/polisci