December 21, 1993

The Clinton Administration's top Russia specialist said today that the surprisingly large support for foes of reform in Russia's parliamentary elections last week showed that there had been too much emphasis on remaking the economy of Russia and not enough on improving the daily lives of its people. Strobe Talbott, the State Department's Ambassador at Large for Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union, also said the United States was looking to other Russian reformers as well as President Boris N. Yeltsin to bring change to the troubled country, even if they were Mr. Yeltsin's political enemies. 'Shock Therapy' Has Failed While Mr. Talbott was characteristically cautious and noncommittal, his remarks illuminated an important shift in official American thinking: an admission, in effect, that the "shock therapy," the-faster-the-better approach to reform advocated by the West -- and until recently by Mr. Yeltsin -- has not worked.

Bobby Ray Inman, President Clinton's choice for Defense Secretary, failed to withhold Social Security taxes for the housekeeper he has employed for seven years, and today he paid $6,000 to the Internal Revenue Service to clear his record. White House officials, who have dropped previous nominees for failing to pay such taxes, said today that they did not find Mr. Inman's lapse to be "disqualifying" as long as he is now current in his tax obligations.

HOPING to capture ghost-like neutrino particles that reveal hidden features of black holes, galactic cores and other cosmic enigmas, astrophysicists have begun installing a pair of peculiar "telescopes" -- one at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and the other under a half-mile of ice at the South Pole. Unlike conventional telescopes that gather and analyze visible light or radio waves, the new telescopes will look for neutrino particles, tiny packets of energy with neither electric charge nor measurable mass, which, although ubiquitous, are so elusive that they remained undetected until 40 years ago.

Beirut Phalangists Bombed Two people were killed and 90 hurt when a bomb struck the east Beirut headquarters of the main Christian political party in Lebanon. Page A6. When God and Country Clash An Air Force chaplain is challenging his ouster for writing a letter before the Persian Gulf war questioning the use of force against Iraq. Page A20. Talk About Talks, Not Bombs South Korea is playing down any nuclear threat from the North, for fear of jeopardizing talks about ending the nations' armed standoff. Page A8. Wedding in Manhattan Marla Ann Maples, daughter of Ann Ogletree and Stanley Maples, was married to Donald John Trump, a son of Mary and Fred Trump. Page B1.

Companies QVC Network said it had raised its bid for Paramount by $100 million in cash. Its offer is worth about $10.4 billion. Viacom's new offer was not known. But QVC asserted that Paramount had said that QVC's bid was higher. [ Page D1. ]