Gene J. Puskar, Associated Press Mark Kaushansky arrives for arraignment yesterday in Federal Court in Pittsburgh. Click photo for larger image.

A former Westinghouse Electric Corp. nuclear engineer from Monroeville made his first appearance in federal court yesterday on charges that he helped Russia's former atomic energy minister steal more than $9 million intended to improve nuclear safety in Russia.

Mark M. Kaushansky, 53, was released on a $100,000 bond pending his arraignment next week. He had no comment.

Federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh say he and Yevgeny Adamov, 66, of Moscow, were business partners who conspired to divert money that was supposed to be used to upgrade Russia's atomic power plants.

Kaushansky, a Ukrainian immigrant, was working as an engineer at Westinghouse in the late 1980s when he met Adamov and assisted in translations for company officials during meetings with him.