The Russian parliament recently demanded that President Boris Yeltsin extend the validity period for privatization vouchers up to three years from the date of issue. Vouchers are currently due to expire on Dec. 13, 1993.


To the Russian public, confused by the mechanics of privatization and suspicious that foreigners, speculators and mafiosi will take over, delay may seem attractive.


The case against delay is strong.


Many government enterprises are now floating between the old planned system and the free-market future where they are supposed to be heading.


As Arkady Volsky's Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs has pointed out, the state is no longer acting as proprietor of its factories. This is the reason for much of the decline in production. Many large firms are confused by the sudden vacuum of corporate industrial leadership, once generously supplied by the state.


The government will no longer invest new funds in enterprises it hopes will soon be someone else's responsibility. Factory managers, on the other hand, are paralyzed by talk of reorganizations, as would be any manager faced by a potential hostile takeover. As a result, managers are thinking only short-term.


The longer this situation persists, the longer it will take for Russian industry to reorganize and the longer production will continue to fall.


This is not to say that parliament's concerns about the speed of privatization are without substance. Clearly, the public does not yet understand the intricacies of the creation of joint-stock companies, the issuing of voucher securities, the public auctioning of shares and the floating of pooled investment funds.


Ignorance will make it easier for the rich and the powerful to take advantage of privatization. A cynic will argue that the rich and powerful will win out anyway. A more constructive approach would be to analyze the cause of uncertainty.


The biggest current controversy surrounds the inclusion of land in the properly to be privatized. Real estate is a very attractive investment, and will affect fundamentally Russian's decision on what to do with their vouchers.


Equally important are the gaps in business law that will determine the profitability of Russian business. Russia still has no commercial bankruptcy law, no laws on consumer liability and a confusing array of laws on foreign investment.


Rather than delaying privatization, the parliament should ensure that laws are passed quickly to make the process as open and clear as possible.