Russians Reach Inflation-Fighting Accord : Economy: Long-feuding government and Central Bank agree to curb credits that have been used to prop up state industries.

MOSCOW — In a promising move for its battered economy, Russia’s government and Central Bank reached an agreement Friday on curbing the state credits to industry that helped bring the country to the brink of hyper-inflation.

The agreement, reached under the aegis of the International Monetary Fund, opened the way for $3 billion in IMF loans and is designed to bring Russia’s inflation, measured at 45% monthly in January, down to 10% a month, the Interfax news agency reported.

“The government is determined to fight inflation,” Richard Laird, an economic consultant to the Kremlin, said recently. “It’s intolerable to have this kind of taxation levied on ordinary citizens through the impact of inflation.”

Russians have seen their life savings dwindle to small change during the last 18 months as prices newly freed from government ceilings soared nearly out of control. Raging inflation was fueled by the Central Bank’s profligate money-printing and the government’s generosity in supporting industries struggling to make the transition to the post-Communist economy.

Now, President Boris N. Yeltsin said this week, there is reason to hope that 1993 “will be the year of economic stabilization.”

A longstanding conflict between the government and the Central Bank had deepened Russia’s economic chaos as the government tried to fight inflation by tightening the budget while the bank tried to fight potential unemployment by supporting industry.

Despite the bank’s efforts, Russia’s unemployment is expected to swell to nearly 7% by the end of the year.

Laird argued for increased foreign aid to help the Russian government make the painful decisions needed to put the economy in order.

“The government is in the process of committing to targets,” he told reporters Thursday. “When it comes to pass, it will be a tremendous strain. But it will be made as easy as possible with foreign funds.”

Foreign governments, naturally reluctant to pump money into Russia’s collapsing economy, began to pledge more aid this spring in hopes of propping up Yeltsin’s reformist team in the face of mounting opposition.

Now, after Yeltsin won a resounding vote of support in an April 25 referendum, he is expected to push forward with his drive to move the Russian economy rapidly from Soviet-style centralized socialism toward a modern, Western-type market.

But Yeltsin has made few moves since the referendum, bringing expressions of frustration even from his own economic overseer, Deputy Prime Minister Boris G. Fyodorov.

Friday’s agreement, however, appeared to signal real progress.

Although it has yet to be signed by top government and bank officials, it cemented a commitment to gradually stop all direct credits given by the Central Bank to various industries and move toward granting subsidies only through the government budget.

The Central Bank, according to Interfax, planned to give more credits to commercial banks and stop its pork-barreling practice of doling out loans itself to regions and sectors. The bank and the government also agreed to stop financing the massive debt that Russian industries have built up to each other.

The government, for its part, promised to cut back the tax breaks and subsidies it gives and to raise taxes on energy, Interfax said.