Letter: Russia in crisis

Sir: The dramatic decline of Russia's economy and consequent political stagnation is viewed with alarm by Western governments and the global financial institutions they implicitly represent.

I am astounded and increasingly angered by the stance taken by our leaders, who continue to demand economic policies which are clearly causing enormous damage to Russian society and its people.

What Russia needs is a careful and planned transition towards capitalism, involving wide public debate, the rebuilding and maintenance of public services (apparently run by a volunteer workforce at present in Russia), intelligent, moderate leadership and above all sensitive and long-term support from the West.

This will involve replacing the drunken buffoon Yeltsin, who has presided over one of the worst cases of missed opportunity in Russian history. He has always struck me as a man completely out of his depth as leader of a country as complex and politically awkward as Russia. This is clearly a view that has been held by the majority of Russian parliamentarians for some time; something the West, in its haste, ironically, to encourage democracy, has overlooked.

The West must deal with the democratically elected majority of Russian politicians who are extremely unlikely to revert to "old style" Communism, as feared, but do need to be supported and encouraged to build a future that incorporates a modicum of concern for the welfare of the Russian people rather then the concern, to date, expressed exclusively for the dividends of foreign investors.

PETER BRADLEY

Chertsey,

Surrey