WASHINGTON -- As if the strains between Washington and Moscow were not already severe, the problems are being intensified by a new development: the Bill Clinton-Boris N. Yeltsin relationship no longer wins political points at home for either man.
For much of his first two years as president, Mr. Clinton won approval for his handling of Russia, even from harsh critics of his leadership on other foreign problems. The president consistently supported Russian reformers and worked closely with Mr. Yeltsin as Russia's elected leader.
But with the Russian military assault on Chechnya, the administration has apparently come to see little domestic political gain from the relationship and a lot more risk.
The latest sign of this disenchantment was the White House's reluctance to reconfirm Mr. Clinton's promise to visit Moscow during the first half of this year. At one time, such summits offered at least a quick political boost for the president, particularly since they underscored the end of superpower rivalry.
Now officials say they want the Chechnya war at least to subside before any presidential visit. One ventured the personal opinion that "it will be very hard for the president to go if CNN is reporting houses being demolished."
The administration was disappointed that Mr. Yeltsin failed to make a serious peace overture to the breakaway Chechens in his speech to Parliament Thursday.
"We would like him to demonstrate a commitment to an early, peaceful settlement of the conflict," an official said.
The war has given added ammunition to congressional critics who accuse the White House of a Russia-first policy toward the republics of the former Soviet Union. And the new Republican majority in Congress is weakening Mr. Clinton's overall control.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, Jesse Helms, has proposed a reduction in aid for Russia twice as large as the cut proposed by the administration. Congress is also threatening to renege on a commitment to provide military housing aid to Russia, even though it was that pledge by President Clinton that got Russian troops out of the Baltics.
The House, in a move bound to irritate Russia, also specifically named the former Warsaw Pact states of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia as eligible to join the Atlantic alliance.
The political scene in Russia seems to offer a skewed mirror image of what's happening in Washington.
As Mr. Yeltsin's popularity falls, the United States is increasingly being blamed by Russians who are disillusioned by reform attempts, according to Lilia Shevtsova, director of Moscow's independent Center for Political Studies, and who now is at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington.
"It's a good scapegoat," she said of the United States. Mr. Yeltsin is "playing to nationalistic sentiments" at home. The most pro-American reformers either seem to be losing support or are becoming more cautious, she said.
U.S. officials who watch Russia closely say Mr. Yeltsin is in control of major decisions. But they can't ignore worrisome signs about Mr. Yeltsin's health: Russian TV has recently shown the Russian president on two occasions to be either unsteady, unable to speak properly, or both; apparent drunkenness during a trip to Germany last year and long absences from public view.
Mr. Yeltsin is capable of making a vigorous appearance at meetings with foreign leaders or an address to Parliament. But concern about his drinking and overall health is "generally greater" now than before last September, a U.S. official said.
There are also policy differences between the two countries, beyond those generated by the war in Chechnya.
Moscow's decision last month to supply Russian nuclear reactors and training to Iran deepens American unease over Moscow's foreign policy. The United States lacks much leverage to stop the agreement with Iran, but officials worry that it could help Iran's ambition to develop nuclear weapons.
U.S. officials claim to be making some progress in limiting Russian arms sales to states, like Iran, that sponsor terrorism. But Russians have frequently complained that the United States has a virtual lock on arms sales to countries friendly to the West.
Along with France, Russia has been pushing to ease the crippling economic sanctions imposed on Iraq. And the administration has only with difficulty kept Russian policy on the war in Bosnia in sync with that of the United States.