Russia's Central Bank Left Leaderless

The Central Bank was without leadership Monday, as top officials waited to see what would happen to bank chairman Viktor Gerashchenko following his offer to resign Friday and his legally questionable dismissal by the president.


"We have no management," Central Bank spokesman Alexei Sitnin said in a telephone interview. "If we get a new chairman, we will get an entire new team."


Legislators in the State Duma and the presidential staff were also unsure whether Gerashchenko was still legally chairman of the Central Bank or not. Meanwhile, Gerashchenko himself left for London for celebrations to mark the 75th anniversary of Narodny Bank, where he had worked for much of his career.


None of Gerashchenko's six deputies could be reached for comment Monday -- one was said to be on sick leave and others had not shown up at their offices all day for various other reasons.


While it remained unclear whether the State Duma would attempt to take up the question of Gerashchenko's resignation, a top commercial banker said Monday that Gerashchenko had told him his decision to step down was in earnest.


"I talked to him on the phone Friday," Vladimir Gusinsky, president of Most Bank, said to be one of the wealthiest people in Russia, told a press conference. "He has made a decision and I think he will insist on this decision."


Gerashchenko was fired in the wake of a dramatic fall of the ruble against the dollar last week, which also brought down the acting finance minister, Sergei Dubinin.


"One can criticize or praise Gerashchenko," Gusinsky said. "But one thing is for sure: He was a professional."


Gusinsky said talks were going on now concerning who should be appointed in Gerashchenko's place.


Reports over the weekend suggested that two of the candidates being considered for the job were former finance minister Boris Fyodorov and former acting prime minister Yegor Gaidar.


Fyodorov said Monday he still had not received an offer, though he would consider it if he did. But he said he still could not believe that Gerashchenko was leaving.


"I will believe that he's gone only after I stop hearing that he's been seen walking the corridors or after I see a stamp in his passport that says he's gone away," Fyodorov told reporters. "Gerashchenko lives!"


Responding to allegations by deputies and experts that the entire Central Bank leadership might leave with Gerashchenko, Fyodorov said a new management could quickly be found if needed "A nice spot never stays empty," he said, using an old Russian adage.


Gaidar, however, refused to comment on rumors of his forthcoming appointment.


Leaders of Duma factions could not agree Monday whether the parliament should still hold a vote on Gerashchenko's fate after Yeltsin withdrew his earlier request that the Duma dismiss the banker and fired him by decree.


Conservative leaders in the Duma are enraged by what they see as Yeltsin's high-handedness. Interfax reported that Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov called Yeltsin's move "a demonstration of disrespect to the Duma and the constitution."


While the Russian constitution says it is the exclusive right of the State Duma to appoint and dismiss the head of the Central Bank, Gerashchenko was appointed by a presidential decree before the constitution was passed, therefore raising the question of whether his dismissal should be subject to old or new laws, Duma spokesman Viktor Cheryomukhin said.


"It's still unclear whether the Duma has the right to vote on Gerashchenko's dismissal," Cheryomukhin said after a meeting of the Duma Council, which includes the leaders of all factions.


Cheryomukhin said the council had ordered three top Duma lawyers -- deputy speakers Mikhail Mityukov and Valentin Kovalyov and Legislation Committee head Vladimir Isakov -- to decide, after consulting with other legal experts, whether a Duma vote on the matter was still necessary.


However, the Duma's budget committee ruled Monday that a vote is needed to comply with the constitution.


The committee recommended that the Duma approve Gerashchenko's resignation but keep him on as acting bank chief until Yeltsin names a new chairman and the Duma approves the appointment.


Presidential spokesman Alexander Orfyonov said Yeltsin had not told his press service whether he considered Geraschenko's dismissal final.


According to Cheryomukhin, the Duma Council will probably decide on a course of action Tuesday evening.


The Duma debate on the fate of the government was also put off, as the Duma Council decided to hear the government's 1994 economic policy report on Friday instead of Wednesday and rescheduled a vote on confidence in the cabinet for next Thursday.