MOSCOW, Nov IO: Economics Minister Yegor Gaidar said Wednesday inflation in Russia will slow this month as tough government policies begin to work, reports AP.

Gaidar told government and business leaders in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk that the government had taken steps to steady the beleaguered ruble and curb Inflation, according to the Interfax news agency.

The government is struggling to shift Russia away from the . old Soviet state-run economy to a free market system. The economy has been buffeted by soaring inflation, declining production and other problems.

Restoring the economy is seen as vital to ensure political stability.

Monthly inflation in Russia has been falling steadily since reaching a 1993 high in August of 29 per cent. Final figures have not been released, but government officials say inflation In October was around 20 per cent a month.

A government programme announced last week calls for cutting inflation to 15 per cent a month by January, and to between two per cent and 5 per cent by the end of 1994.