LIBERAL'S MURDER RINGS RUSSIAN ALARM BELLS

By Oleg Shchedrov

MOSCOW, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Russia's feuding political parties ranging from liberals to communists sounded equally alarmed on Saturday by the murder of a prominent lawmaker, saying it was a dangerous sign ahead of the next elections.

Police do not know who killed liberal Galina Starovoitova and badly wounded her aide in Russia's second city St Petersburg late on Friday and are investigating several possible motives.

But both allies and foes of Starovoitova, a long-time leader of the Democratic Choice of Russia (DVR) movement and a member of the State Duma lower house of parliament, have already branded the murder as ``political.''

``The murder of such a bright personality who was a Duma deputy and an outstanding politician should be viewed as political by definition,'' the deputy head of President Boris Yeltsin's staff, Oleg Sysuyev, told Ekho Moskvy radio.

The killing comes at a time of growing political uncertainty as Yeltsin, dogged by illness and weakened by Russia's economic crisis, withdraws from active political life.

Russia's next parliamentary election is due in December 1999 and the presidential poll in July 2000, but many political forces suspect they may come sooner and have effectively begun their electoral campaign.

A series of recent scandals, including charges by prominent businessman Boris Berezovsky that elements in the security services planned to kill him, and an unexpected legal action against the main public television network ORT, have fuelled fears that political tensions could spin out of control.

Starovoitova had been visiting St Petersburg to help her movement's campaign ahead of an election for the local legislature scheduled for December 6.

``There is a feeling someone is clearing space ahead of the St Petersburg polls,'' RIA news agency quoted a senior Duma deputy from the ultra-nationalist party of Vladimir Zhirinovsky as saying.

``I am sure this should be investigated thoroughly because otherwise the 1999 election may turn into something horrible,'' Alexei Mitrofanov told RIA.

The political atmosphere has been further clouded by recent anti-Semitic remarks made by radical Communist Albert Makashov, who called for Jews to be rounded up and jailed, and by the Duma's subsequent failure to censure him.

``I think these events are all links in one chain,'' liberal deputy Ella Panfilova told Ekho Moskvy. ``This shows that in our society the process of intolerance to each other is developing. I think we are on the brink.''

Sergei Yushenkov, another DVR leader, told NTV television that Starovoitova had received many threats from political foes, especially after she attacked the Communists' over Makashov.

But on Saturday the Communists were fast to denounce her murder and to deny any involvement. They also blasted the authorities for failing to stem Russia's post-Soviet crime wave.

``It is very dangerous to speculate about the possible motives of the crime,'' Interfax news agency quoted senior Communist deputy Viktor Ilyukhin as saying.

``It is even more dangerous to try and blame the Communist party for this simply because Starovoitova fought it.''

Echoing that view, Communist Duma speaker Gennady Seleznyov told Itar-Tass news agency: ``Unrestrained and unpunished banditry has so far failed to face a worthy response from the state. There must be something wrong with that.''

Some politicians, anxious not to crank up the political temperature any further at a time of deep economic crisis, urged all parties to refrain from attacking one another.

``What must be done now is to focus on curbing crime rather than on political differences between left and right,'' Vladimir Ryzhkov, deputy speaker of the Duma and a senior member of the centrist party Our Home is Russia, told Tass.