Senior officials of the International Monetary Fund in Moscow have said they will recommend that the IMF Board release the latest instalment of a ten-billion dollar loan to Russia.

The move came after the Russian government announced a series of measures to restore confidence in the battered economy.

These include boosting revenue by selling off government stock in twenty of Russia's biggest concerns, and, for the first time, pursuing big tax evaders.

They are estimated to owe billions of dollars.

President Yeltsin has also sacked the head of the tax-collection service, Alexander Pochinok, for poor performance.

He's been replaced by a prominent reformist -- a former finance minister, Boris Fyodorov.