Kiriyenko speaks to the upper house of the Parliament Friday

• 'Social tension is growing'
• Yeltsin consults other leaders
• Financial mess worsens
• IMF loan may depend on Parliament
• Related stories and sites

MOSCOW (CNN) -- The Russian government is up against the wall -- caught between demands from workers who haven't been paid in months and the need to pay back a spiral of debt to international lenders. On Friday, Prime Minister Sergei Kiriyenko painted a bleak picture.

Kiriyenko, speaking to Parliament's upper house -- the Federation Council -- said the financial crisis is heightening "social tension" and the government's need to swiftly implement an economic stabilization package.

President Boris Yeltsin, meantime, sought support from international leaders to overcome Russia's economic troubles but said the country was strong enough to crush any "extremist" attempt to seize power.

The Russian government is seeking Parliament's approval for a series of new tax laws. It also wants $10 billion to $15 billion in fresh loans from the International Monetary Fund and other lenders.

As John Odling-Smee, a senior IMF official, arrived in Moscow for loan talks debt negotiator Anatoly Chubais told the Wall Street Journal he expected a preliminary deal on new IMF credits by Saturday.

"The financial market has practically ceased to exist," said Kiriyenko, who has been battling assorted economic woes since he took over as prime minister in March. "Social tension is growing in society, which naturally is not helpful to stabilization."

Strikes by coal miners and other workers have been on the rise as millions of workers go months without receiving their pay. Coal miners have been blocking freight trains on the Trans-Siberian railway for the past week, similar to a protest staged in May.

Kiriyenko also insisted that the ruble would not be devalued. "Never," he told reporters who asked when a devaluation might take place.

The government's greatest fear is that the currency will be devalued, forcing up prices and inflicting more economic pain on all Russians.

The government has fiercely defended the ruble, which has remained relatively steady and is trading at around 6.2 rubles to the U.S. dollar.

Yeltsin consults other leaders

A Kremlin statement said Yeltsin spoke by telephone on Friday with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"They discussed the situation on world financial markets, and implementation of a program of anti-crisis measures by the Russian government," it said.

Yeltsin also planned to speak with U.S. President Bill Clinton and IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus, the Kremlin said.

Yeltsin, who has said the crisis might be dangerous socially and politically, also decided to stay in Moscow next week, putting off his summer holiday.

"Russia needs strong authority rather than a strong hand," he said in televised remarks to senior military officers at a ceremony in the Kremlin. He called the officers "a reliable support" both for Russia and for him personally.

"We have enough force to cut short any extremist plans to seize power," he said. "They will fail."

The financial mess has been worsening over the past two months because of the government's chronic inability to collect taxes, a reduction in oil export revenues and an exodus of international investors.

The economy shrank by 0.2 percent for the first half of the year, returning to negative territory after growing a modest 0.8 percent last year, the first year of growth this decade.

The stock market has fallen by more than half this year, and investors are so wary of the Russian bond market that interest rates are now more than 100 percent, and buyers are still scarce.

Russia has been holding talks with the IMF and the World Bank on a new loan package.

But the two agencies may be reluctant to conclude a loan deal before Parliament approves an economic stabilization package that tightens tax collection.

The lending agencies consider improved tax revenues to be the key to a Russian recovery.

The lower house -- the Duma -- is not scheduled to meet again until next Wednesday, and the Communists and other opposition members have strong reservations about measures that would raise taxes.

Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.