Within weeks the ruble collapsed, inflation surged and the outbreak of war in Chechnya sullied Russia's international reputation once again.

The unemployment rate rose, inflation surged, and the burden of external debt doubled.

During the last 12 months, inflation has surged ahead at a 135.8 percent clip, compared with 50 percent in the year before.

And inflation, as measured by the G.D.P. price index, surged at a 4 percent annualized rate.

Many Government officials agree, noting that inflation also surged early last year and then petered out, leaving the 1992 inflation rate at a mild 2.9 percent.

The Government's monthly deficit has risen to at least $35 million, and inflation has surged again to roughly 50 percent a month.

As political agitation and economic uncertainty grew, business confidence evaporated, hard currency reserves tumbled and inflation surged.

So Mr. Volcker held short-term interest rates at 14 percent, concerned that if he cut them too soon, inflation might surge in a rebounding economy.

The international price of coffee, the country's biggest export, has plummeted; inflation is surging and a currency devaluation seems imminent.

Most large factories are closed, hundreds of thousands of workers are receiving reduced wages or none at all, inflation is surging, and shortages are spreading.