No. 103, 03 June 1991

BALTIC STATES



BALTIC LEADERS IN BRUSSELS. The chairmen of the Lithuanian, Latvian,
and Estonian Supreme Councils Vytautas Landsbergis, Anatolijs
Gorbunovs, and Arnold Ruutel flew to Brussels directly from Vilnius
on May 31. Ruutel and Landsbergis visited NATO, where they were
received by the Icelandic and Danish ambassadors, and all three
chairmen spoke at the Benelux Interparliamentary Consultative
Council. There, Belgian Foreign Minister Mark Eyskens expressed
hope that the Balts would be able to participate in the upcoming
CSCE meeting in Berlin, the RFE Lithuanian Service reported that
day. (Saulius Girnius)

BALTS CONDITIONALLY AGREE TO WESTERN AID FOR USSR. On June 1
the Baltic leaders held a press conference in Brussels at which
they agreed to the principle of Western aid for the USSR on the
condition that Moscow refrain from violence and does not use
the aid against the Balts, Radio Independent Lithuania reported
on June 2. They also met with the Norwegian ambassador to NATO,
and visited the Baltic information center where they talked with
the chairman of Christian Democratic International. (Saulius
Girnius)

LITHUANIA AND OMON. On May 30 the Lithuanian government issued
a statement declaring that members of the USSR MVD OMON unit
had until June 7 to quit their jobs or be considered members
of a criminal group. The government offered to assist them in
finding new employment. The commander of the Vilnius OMON, Boleslaw
Makutinowicz, said in an interview over Soviet army-controlled
Vilnius television that OMON only obeyed the orders of the USSR
MVD and did not plan to disband, Radio Vilnius reported on May
31. (Saulius Girnius)

CARITAS CONGRESS IN LITHUANIA. On June 1-2 the Lithuanian Catholic
women's organization Caritas held a special congress in Kaunas,
Radio Independent Lithuania reported on June 2. The congress
was called because the organization, numbering about 6,000 members,
had to amend its bylaws to allow males to be members so as to
conform to the rules of International Caritas which the Lithuanians
joined on May 23. The Lithuanian Council of Bishops appointed
Bishop Sigitas Tamkevicius as the organization's head, but the
administrative work will be supervised by a general secretary,
who was democratically elected by the congress from three candidates.
(Saulius Girnius)

TRUBIN: CUSTOMS POSTS AND OMON ATTACKS ILLEGAL. On June 1, USSR
Procurator General Nikolai Trubin said on Vremya that while,
according to Soviet laws, the establishment of Baltic customs
is "illegal," the recent OMON attacks on the customs posts are
also unlawful: "OMON acted without authorization [...] exceeding
its competence....There must not be such a situation in our country,
in a law-governed state." He linked the OMON attacks with the
refusal of the Latvian Supreme Council and the Council of Ministers
to consider complaints about the customs posts made in mid-April
by the Latvian SSR Procuracy (not the Procuracy of Latvia) and
the transport procuracy of the Baltic republics. Trubin said
that "16 of 78 customs posts were removed" by OMON forces at
the Latvian-Lithuanian border. (Dzintra Bungs)

RENEWED ATTACKS FEARED IN LATVIA. According to Baltfax report
May 29, the Latvian Supreme Council has a copy of a telegram
from USSR Minister of Internal Affairs Boriss Pugo warning the
republican ministries of involving policemen at the customs posts.
After the recent attacks on Baltic customs posts, the Latvian
government authorized police protection of the posts. A Latvian
Supreme Council press spokesman said that the police presence
might provide an excuse for further attacks on the customs posts.
A similar telegram was received by the Estonian Ministry of Internal
Affairs. Deputy Prime Minister Ilmars Bisers told the press in
Moscow on May 30 that there is reason to fear a coup attempt
in Latvia during the parliamentary recess in July. (Dzintra Bungs)


LATVIAN AND USSR PRIME MINISTERS DISCUSS FINANCES. Latvian Prime
Minister Ivars Godmanis met again with his Soviet counterpart
Nikolai Pavlov on May 31 in Moscow. They discussed financial
relations between Latvia and the USSR, privatization in Latvia,
the possibility of Moscow sharing Western aid with Latvia, and
the question of the Kremlin attempting to stop economic reforms
in Latvia. According to Radio Riga of June 1, Godmanis quoted
Pavlov as saying that the center would leave Latvia alone. Pavlov
met with Estonian Prime Minister Edgar Savisaar on May 27, also
to discuss economic matters. (Dzintra Bungs)

NEW SOVIET AIR DEFENSE INSTALLATIONS IN LATVIA. The Soviet military
is dismantling air defense installations in Vainode and Barta
in western Latvia, but is replacing them with more modern ones
nearby, close to the port city of Liepaja, reported Diena of
May 24. Lieutenant Colonel Yurii Zamyatin explained that "the
Persian Gulf War showed that fragments of missiles shot down
over inhabited areas cause great damage. Taking into account
the possiblity of attacks from the sea, air defense installations
should be located on the coast so that the damaged missiles fall
into the sea." (Dzintra Bungs)


USSR - ALL-UNION TOPICS


GORBACHEV TO G-7 SUMMIT? By the weekend, most of the G-7 nations
appeared to be in favor of inviting Soviet President Mikhail
Gorbachev to the G-7 summit in July. Germany, France, Italy,
and Canada had indicated their approval, Japan was still against,
the US was leaning toward an invitation, and the UK, as host,
was claiming benevolent neutrality in the matter. Western agencies
June 2 cited a report in yesterday's Berliner Morgenpost quoting
unnamed German government sources as saying Gorbachev would not
be an official participant, but would only attend discussions
dealing with the economic crisis in the USSR. The latest modality
was floated by The Guardian of June 3: this suggested that Gorbachev
would be invited to a dinner to allow him to outline his proposals
for reform and for Western assistance. (Keith Bush/Sallie Wise)


ATTALI INVITES GORBACHEV TO EBRD. Jacques Attali, head of the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development [EBRD], has
invited Gorbachev to the bank's headquarters in London for talks,
possibly in July, Western agencies reported May 31. A spokesman
for the EBRD declined to be more specific when asked whether
Gorbachev's visit was intended to coincide with the G-7 summit
July 15-17. (NCA/Sallie Wise)

THE QUARTER-TRILLION BID. According to Western agencies and newspapers
May 31, presidential envoy Yevgenii Primakov told IMF Managing
Director Michel Camdessus that the USSR will need between $30
billion and $50 billion a year from the West during the next
five years to underwrite its projected reform program. This is
below the DM 500 billion estimated minimum financing requirement
for the former GDR over the next ten years, but well above what
most observers deem realistic or even desirable. (Keith Bush)


WHICH PROGRAM? From most of the Western press coverage, it would
appear that the rescue programs peddled by Primakov in Washington
and Grigorii Yavlinsky in Cambridge are not identical documents.
The Yavlinsky version seems to be undergoing further revision.
One Western journalist who clearly has read the document--or
one of the two documents--is the Moscow correspondent of The
Economist. In the June 1 edition, he writes of a 30-page program
that differs greatly from the original Pavlov anti-crisis plan
of April 9. Under its provisions, republics would be responsible
for most privatization, and foreign trade would be substantially
more decentralized. (Keith Bush)

USSR TO RESCHEDULE IN 1991? A report by Salomon Brothers' sovereign
risk assessment group warns that the Soviet Union is likely to
reschedule its commercial bank loans "in the near future," The
Financial Times reported May 30. The Soviet risk has been downgraded
to "a low double B sovereign credit similar to Mexico or Venezuela...and
could fall lower in the non-investment grade category over the
next year." The share of commercial bank lending in the estimated
total debt of $64 billion is expected to drop to 41%. The Independent
of May 31 reported that rescheduling of the Soviet debt is part
of the package that may be offered by the G-7 nations at their
July summit. (Keith Bush)

FINAL WORK ON CFE. The United States and Soviet Union resolved
differences on the CFE treaty on June 1. US Secretary of State
James Baker and his Soviet counterpart Aleksandr Bessmertnykh
said they hoped a US-Soviet summit would take place at the "earliest
possible opportunity." Baker cautioned, however, that the US
"would like to see a summit in Moscow that would result in a
signature of a strategic arms treaty," Western agencies reported
June 1. (Suzanne Crow)

ENTRY ON "NATIONALITY" MAY BE DROPPED FROM SOVIET PASSPORTS.
A bill has been drafted that would allow Soviet citizens to stop
giving their nationality in their internal passports and other
documents, Western agencies reported May 31, citing Interfax.
According to the draft, nationality would be listed only in accordance
with the wishes of the individual, and adults would have the
right to change any entry. According to the report, no date has
been fixed for the Supreme Soviet to debate the bill. (Ann Sheehy)


DEMOCRATIC COMMUNISTS TO SET UP OWN PARTY. The leader of the
"Communists for Democracy" group in the RSFSR Congress of People's
Deputies, Colonel Aleksandr Rutskoi, was quoted May 31 by the
Russian Information Agency (RIA) as saying that his group intends
to convene a founding congress of a new party. Rutskoi, who has
already called on reformists to set up a strong party to oppose
the CPSU, is running for vice-president of the RSFSR on Yeltsin's
ticket. Rutskoi's initiative is the second attempt (after the
creation of the Democratic Platform of reformist communists in
the CPSU) to split the USSR's Communist Party. (Vera Tolz)

MVD PREPARES FOR MARKET TRANSITION. Minister of Internal Affairs
Pugo told Ekonomika i zhizn', No. 22, that law-enforcement agencies
must institute preemptive policies during the introduction of
market relations in order to catch every new form of economic
crime. He suggested legislation imposing criminal and administrative
penalties for creating "front" cooperatives, claims of false
bankruptcy, intentional shortages, unjustified raising of prices,
and distortion of recruiting and employment rules. Pugo advocated
a single system of declaring and controlling income. In preparation
for these measures, the MVD has begun to convert its old economic
division OBKhSS into a "Service to Combat Economic Criminality,"
said Pugo. (Victor Yasmann)

SUPSOV INVESTIGATION OF KGB AND GRU DEFECTORS PROPOSED. The recent
defection of senior GRU officer Aleksandr Krapiva, along with
the cases of other KGB and GRU defectors during the last ten
years, must be investigated by the USSR Supreme Soviet, wrote
People's Deputy and academician Yurii Ryzhov in Literaturnaya
gazeta, May 29. (Krapiva defected to the West with his family
in Vienna this April). This is not a "branch matter," but rather
a case of national interest, said Ryzhov. Due to the process
of democratization in the USSR, political and ideological motivations
for these officers' defections appear unconvincing, commented
the newspaper. (Victor Yasmann)

"RADIO PEACE AND PROGRESS" STOPS BROADCASTING. A Soviet international
radio station reported May 31 that it was going to end its broadcasts
June 1. "Radio Peace and Progress" said that the newly created
All-Union State TV and Radio Broadcasting Company refused to
rent it office space, studios and equipment. The radio had rented
such facilities from the company's predecessor, the USSR State
Committee for TV and Radio Broadcasting. In its farewell broadcast,
the radio station implied that a policy dispute with the central
authorities led the all-Union Company to take repressive measures
against the radio. "Radio Peace and Progress" broadcast to Europe,
Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. (NCA/Vera Tolz)


YURII ZHUKOV DIES. A long-term political commentator of Pravda,
Yurii Zhukov, has died in Moscow, TASS reported June 2. Zhukov
was known for his conservative and anti-Western views. Since
perestroika began, he on many occasions attacked reformist forces
in the USSR. His obituary, published in the CPSU daily June 2,
was signed by Gorbachev and other top CPSU officials. (Vera Tolz)


PATRIARCH SPEAKS WITH USSR SUPSOV CHAIRMAN. TASS reported on
May 30 that the chairman of the USSR Supreme Soviet, Anatolii
Luk'yanov, received Patriarch of All Russia, Aleksii, that day.
They discussed problems in connection with the introduction of
the law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations,
and Church participation in charity and peacemaking. (Oxana Antic)


USSR - IN THE REPUBLICS



YELTSIN TALKS WITH PATRIARCH. TASS reported on June 1 that RSFSR
Supreme Soviet Chairman Boris Yeltsin received Patriarch Aleksii
that day. During their conversation they discussed a variety
of problems, including the life of the Russian Orthodox Church
and new opportunities for its development since the registration
of the Church as a legal entity by the RSFSR Ministry of Justice.
They also discussed the issue of the return of property confiscated
by the state. The Patriarch suggested that education in public
schools be secular, but not atheist. (Oxana Antic)

FIRST CONGRESS OF RUSSIAN POPULAR FRONT. The first congress of
the Russian (Rossiisky) Popular Front, set up as early as 1988,
opened in Moscow June 1, TASS reported. The front initially included
people supporting democratic reforms, but then nationalists close
to the extremist organization Pamyat' gained the upper hand in
the forum. TASS quoted the front's secretary, Valerii Skurlatov,
as telling the congress that the front advocates "a confederation
of sovereign states with different social systems" on the territory
of the USSR. (In the 1970s, Skurlatov wrote several works considered
to be anti-Semitic and even fascist). (Vera Tolz)

RSFSR TO PRIVATIZE 20% OF ECONOMY BY 1993. According to RSFSR
Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Malei, the RSFSR plans to begin
privatizing its food, light industry, transportation, and public
works and commerce sectors in the near future. The first stage
of the privatiztion scheme is intended to raise some 200-250
billion rubles for the RSFSR government. In comments carried
by Western and Soviet media June 2, Malei said that each of the
150 million RSFSR citizens would receive 7,000 rubles in coupons
that would be redeemable for stocks in the privatized companies.
(John Tedstrom)

RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT INVITES PROPOSALS FOR COMMERCIAL TV. The RSFSR
Press and Information Minister, Mikhail Poltoranin, issued a
statement June 1 inviting Soviet and foreign companies and individuals
to submit proposals for setting up a commercial television network,
Western agencies reported that day. Poltoranin said that proposals,
including a detailed concept, technical and financial plans,
must be received by August 1. He will head a jury that chooses
the best plan by September 1. In May, the RSFSR started full-time
broadcasting of its own TV. This television is, however, state-sponsored.
At a press conference on May 12, one of the representatives of
RSFSR television stressed the need for a real independent television,
which could be only a commercial one. (Vera Tolz)

POPE MAY VISIT UKRAINE. According to Western agencies of June
3, Pope John Paul II has said that he hopes to visit Ukraine
next year. The Pope was speaking at a service for Ukrainian Catholics
on June 2 in Przemysl, Poland. (Oxana Antic)

KRAVCHUK ON HUNGARIAN MINORITY. Chairman of the Ukrainian Supreme
Soviet Leonid Kravchuk concluded his official visit to Hungary
on Saturday, MTI reported June 1. Before leaving Kravchuk addressed
students at the Agricultural Sciences University, where he said
that the question of national minorities is a priority issue
for Ukraine. According to Kravchuk, the republic will strive
to create a genuine home for the 200,000 Hungarians in Ukraine.
(Roman Solchanyk)

"AIR UKRAINE" EXPANDS FOREIGN FLIGHTS. Ukrinform-Tass reported
on May 27 that regular twice-weekly Toronto-Kiev service has
begun and will operate during the summer tourist season. According
to Vladimir Rashchuk, Air Ukraine's director, the airline now
has regular flights to Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Berlin, and
Athens. Regular flights to Munich and New York will begin soon.
(Valentyn Moroz)

UKRAINIANS TO RECEIVE UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS STARTING IN JULY.
The newspaper Molod' Ukrainy reported May 5 that Ukraine will
offer unemployment benefits starting July 1. Benefits will be
calculated according to the number of family members and will
be funded by the republican employment fund, which will receive
up to 3% from local and republican budgets and contributions
from enterprises' production costs, determined on a yearly basis
(0.6% in 1991). Unemployment bureaus will also earn money from
their own commercial activities. Radio Kiev reported May 27 that
there are officially only 242 unemployed in the Ukrainian capital,
80% of whom are engineers and technical professionals. At the
same time, there are 26,000 vacant blue-collar positions in Kiev,
the radio said. (Valentyn Moroz)

UKRAINE TO DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SOURCES. The Ukrainian
Ministry of Energy will purchase $1 million worth of electric
windmills in Denmark, Radio Kiev reported May 30. The mills will
be installed in the Crimea, which has the most ideal climate
for such purposes. It already has 40 such mills, although this
region alone consumes 8 billion kilowatts of electricity per
year. Ukrainian specialists estimate that wind power in the Crimea
can generate 13 billion kilowatts per year, the radio said. (Valentyn
Moroz)

TWO MORE CONSULS ACCREDITED IN KIEV. Radio Kiev reported May
29 that the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has accredited
Mongolian and Czechoslovak consuls. Formerly, the report noted,
accreditation was done in Moscow and consuls were simply sent
to Kiev. Speaking at the press conference after accreditation,
the Mongolian consul said that Ukrainian-Mongolian economic cooperation
is extensive, although exact numbers are still unknown because
everything is conducted through Moscow. (Valentyn Moroz)

ARMENIAN CP ELECTS NEW FIRST SECRETARY. The Armenian CP June
1 elected Aram Gasparovich Sarkisyan to the post of First Secretary
in place of Stepan Pogosyan, who resigned May 14, TASS reported
June 2. Sarkisyan is 42 years old and a former Pravda correspondent
in Armenia; he was elected Armenian CP secretary in December
1990. (Liz Fuller)

ILIESCU DENIES INSENSITIVITY ON MOLDAVIA, URGES REALISM. In a
statement issued through Rompres May 31, Romanian President Ion
Iliescu refuted domestic criticism of the government for insensitivity
toward Moldavia. He was replying, inter alia, to charges that
official Bucharest had tacitly colluded in the ouster of Moldavian
Prime Minister Mircea Druc as desired by Moscow. Iliescu's rejoinder
professed "sympathy for and solidarity with our brothers," but
warned against "unrealistic attitudes." He criticized "the lack
of political wisdom, the irresponsible nature of some statements
and acts of some of our citizens, who do not understand our geopolitical
conditions." (Vladimir Socor)

MOLDAVIAN SOCIAL-DEMOCRATS TO JOIN EAST EUROPEAN BODY. At its
constituent conference in Ljubljana (Slovenia) May 25-26, the
Confederation of Social-Democrat Parties of Central and Eastern
Europe resolved to invite Moldavia's Social-Democrat Party to
join, Radio Bucharest reported May 31. The conference also adopted
a resolution stating that Moldavia's inclusion in the USSR was
due to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact and that the people of the
republic were entitled to "self determination and independence."
Romania's Social-Democrat Party, a component of Romania's democratic
opposition and a member of the Socialist International, had proposed
the resolutions. (Vladimir Socor)

MOLDAVIAN RESERVE OFFICERS ORGANIZE. A League of Moldavian Reserve
Officers and NCOs was set up at a constituent conference in Kishinev,
Ekspress khronika reported from the Moldavian capital May 28.
The conference adopted the League's statutes and program. The
League proposes to contribute to the patriotic education of Moldavian
youth and, according to Moldavian sources interviewed by telephone
from Kishinev, to train youth groups interested in physical fitness.
(Vladimir Socor)

KISHINEV REJECTS USSR SUPSOV RESOLUTION. In a decision made public
June 1, the Moldavian Parliament's presidium rejected the resolution
of the USSR Supreme Soviet Council of Nationalities, published
April 30, "On Normalizing the Situation in Moldavia" as "ignoring
Moldavia's sovereignty" and "interfering in the republic's internal
affairs." That document had implicitly conditioned Moldavia's
territorial integrity on compliance with Gorbachev's December
22 decree, also titled "On Normalizing the Situation in Moldavia,"
and resolved to send to Moldavia groups of USSR deputies and
of law enforcement and economic officials to examine complaints
against Kishinev by the organizers of the would-be Dnestr and
Gagauz republics. (Vladimir Socor)

RAIL LINE FROM BEIJING TO ISTANBUL UNDER DISCUSSION. Radio Moscow,
quoting the semi-independent Aziya-Press, reported on May 31
that government leaders of the Central Asian republics had gathered
in Alma-Ata to discuss the formation of a unified rail line between
Beijing and Istanbul. The line would pass through Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The line is intended to facilitate
expanded foreign trade, business and tourism opportunities for
the Central Asian republics. Another meeting is planned, which
is to include Chinese, Iranian and Turkish representatives. (Bess
Brown)