The outburst comes as Russia prepares to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund over the next tranche of a stalled $22bn loan.

Mr Primakov warned that his country faced spiralling inflation if the money was not released.

He said Russia desperately needed the next $8bn slice to enable the country to pay off its debts and stimulate the economy.

Andrew Harding in Moscow: "This was an unprecedented outburst"

But he made it clear his government would not follow the IMF's conditions unquestioningly.

''I get irritated when delegations of young lads come here who have seen almost nothing of life, '' Mr Primakov said.

''They have ready lots of books. That is fine. But at the same time, having had no experience of life and not knowing the conditions of the country, they begin to dictate various schemes for our development.''

Threat to print money

Mr Primakov has heavily criticised the tight monetary policies followed by his predecessors and endorsed by western financial institutions.

Mr Primakov: Tired of being lectured to

On Friday he announced a series of tax cuts against IMF advice.

The Russian Government, on the verge of bankruptcy, is not in a strong bargaining position.

But BBC Moscow correspondent Andrew Harding says Mr Primakov is clearly hoping to force every possible concession out of the IMF whose director Michel Camdessus arrives in Moscow next week.

Mr Primakov even made a thinly veiled threat to turn on the printing presses and push Russia into a hyper-inflationary spiral if the western loans were not forthcoming.

Our correspondent says Mr Primakov's tactics may not impress the IMF, but are sure to win him strong support among Conservative and Communist forces in the Russian parliament.