Policymaker Says Putin Will Act Quickly to Reform Russian Economy

MOSCOW —  Russia will push forward swiftly with radical economic change under newly elected President Vladimir V. Putin, the man in charge of setting the new policy said Thursday.

At a Moscow news conference, think tank chief German O. Gref promised an ambitious strategy to continue Russia’s transition to a market system, including tax reform, restructuring of the banking system, land privatization and reform of the justice system and the army.

He said Putin’s approach on economic growth is “rather radical.”

Since his election Sunday as Russian president, Putin has made no major policy announcements or dramatic changes of personnel, but he has sent out several firm signals that appear designed to sketch out the direction in which he intends to take the country.

Putin enhanced his reputation for toughness in the war against Chechnya. Now he is indicating that he intends to be just as tough-minded on economic policy. And although the West has criticized his handling of the war, Putin’s readiness to move swiftly on the economy is likely to be met with approval.

The president-elect had made it clear Monday that he will wage war until the rebels in the separatist republic are vanquished, lauding the Interior Ministry for its “brilliant” role in the Chechen war.

But Thursday, there were signs he is more willing to respond to Western human rights concerns about Chechnya. Putin agreed to allow the Red Cross access to the controversial “filtration” camps--the prisons for Chechen rebel suspects where torture and rape have reportedly occurred. The organization also will be able to deliver humanitarian aid.

Putin appointed Gref, an ally from St. Petersburg, to head the Center for Strategic Studies last year, ordering it to come up with a hefty document outlining an economic plan for Russia. This week, Putin ordered the group to complete its report by the end of April.

With the document still being prepared and due for release after the formation of a new government in May, Gref provided only sketchy insights into the plan’s details Thursday.

He said the document will have an estimated 300 pages and “as for the parameters of the program--they are very tough.”

“Our task is to accomplish a transition to a normal, market-oriented state within the shortest possible time,” Gref said. The strategy “provides for a breakthrough scenario of Russia’s development and the implementation of as radical reforms as possible to enable us to make Russia’s economy manageable and market-oriented in the shortest possible time.”

Gref said he has no doubt that Putin has the political will to push the economic program through.

“It seems to me that there is no threat today that something may obstruct the implementation of the program,” Gref said.

“It is clear that there are various interests and all sorts of requests made by different interest groups, including the oligarchs,” he said, referring to the powerful moguls who wielded hefty political clout during the Boris N. Yeltsin era. “But in my opinion, the president-elect’s determination on this subject has been pretty clearly manifested. He has proved capable of making even the most difficult decisions.”

Putin has set up a task force to coordinate the plan, including Gref; Finance Minister Mikhail M. Kasyanov; the Kremlin chief of staff, Alexander S. Voloshin; and Deputy Finance Minister Alexei L. Kudrin.

Gref’s pro-market rhetoric and Putin’s promise to fight corruption and make Russia’s laws work have sparked Western hopes that Putin’s government will create a more welcome climate for investment.

“The main problem for macro-economists who work with Russia’s economy today,” Gref said, “is that it does not react to the classic mechanisms that are accepted and work in the rest of the world.”

Gref’s group is looking at banking reform, with hundreds of Russian banks effectively bankrupt. Perhaps unrealistically, Putin ordered the Central Bank on Wednesday to come up with a plan within 10 days to restructure the industry.

Putin’s most immediate domestic challenge is to end the costly war in Chechnya, with signs the conflict is turning into a long and punishing guerrilla war.

In a new setback Thursday, the Russian side admitted that 33 servicemen were missing and several of them believed killed after rebels ambushed a Russian column of 49 elite Interior Ministry troops near Vedeno in southeastern Chechnya on Wednesday.

A second column of more than 100 troops sent to rescue the first also was ambushed and forced to withdraw. Sixteen servicemen from the first column were rescued.

Public tolerance for military losses in Chechnya has already been tested in several military disasters--including the deaths of 84 elite troops in one recent battle.

The new rebel attack underscores the Russians’ vulnerability in the southern Chechen mountains, particularly with spring and summer approaching, when small mobile rebel units can move freely through the dense mountain foliage.

Russia has been under strong pressure over atrocities by Russian servicemen in Chechnya, with reports from human rights groups that more than 120 civilians have been executed by the Russian side.

In the first sign that Russia is investigating abuses in Chechnya, authorities Wednesday announced the arrest of a Russian commander, Col. Yuri Budanov, who allegedly raped and strangled an 18-year-old Chechen woman early this week in the village of Tangi-Chu, southwest of the Chechen capital, Grozny.

Alexei V. Kuznetsov of The Times’ Moscow Bureau contributed to this report.