No. 112, 14 June 1991

USSR

BALTIC STATES


"DAY OF MOURNING AND HOPE". The 50th anniversary of the beginning
of the mass deportations by the Soviet authorities of hundreds
of thousands of people from Lithuania is being commemorated today
(June 14) as a "Day of Mourning and Hope." Masses will be held
in the churches of Lithuania at 12:30 P.M., commemorating the
thousands of victims of Soviet terror. In many Lithuanian cities
rallies will be held at the train stations from which the deportees,
packed into cattle cars, were transported to remote parts of
the USSR with inadequate food and clothing. A number of monuments
and crosses will also be dedicated in honor of the deportees.
(Saulius Girnius)

BALTIC WAY REVISITED. Paulius Klimas, a Lithuanian from Rochester,
NY, has completed a 600 km walk through the Baltic States. Klimas
began his walk for Baltic freedom in Tallinn on May 14, following
the route of the 1989 Baltic Way, a human chain linking the Baltic
States. The walk ended in Vilnius today (June 14), coinciding
with the "Day of Mourning and Hope." Klimas walked from Rochester
to Washington in 1988, drawing attention to the plight of Petras
Grazulis, a Lithuanian dissident sentenced to ten months in prison
for his refusal to serve in the Soviet army. Grazulis and Klimas
met for the first time on the Latvian-Lithuanian border late
last month. Radio Independent Lithuania broadcast periodic reports
on his progress throughout the walk. (Gytis Liulevicius)

BALTIC FREEDOM DAY(S). US President George Bush signed a proclamation
declaring June 14 as Baltic Freedom Day. According to the proclamation,
"we reaffirm our support for the right of the Baltic peoples
to live in peace and freedom." In addition to reiterating the
US policy of not recognizing the forcible annexation of the Baltic
States, the proclamation also calls on the USSR "to move forward
with the talks" on Baltic independence. Curiously, the proclamation
declares two Baltic Freedom Days--June 14, 1992 is included in
this year's proclamation. (Gytis Liulevicius)

MORE LITHUANIAN CUSTOMS POSTS ATTACKED. A Lithuanian Ministry
of Internal Affairs duty officer announced that at 2:45 A.M.
today (June 14), 15 armed people dressed in paratrooper uniforms
crossed into Lithuania from Latvia and burned down the customs
post at Germaniskis in the Birzai raion. According to Radio Independent
Lithuania June 14, Guard Virginijus Slenderis was injured. At
4:00 A.M., armed OMOM troops attacked the customs post at Salociai
in the Pasvalys raion and beat up and robbed the guards. Attempts
to burn down the post failed. Both posts, which were not guarded
by the Lithuanian police, had been previously burned down on
May 23. (Saulius Girnius)

LITHUANIAN SSR PROSECUTOR TO INVESTIGATE. A joint statement by
the Lithuanian and Latvian SSR prosecutors and the Baltic transport
prosecutor, published in Izvestia June 13, said the Lithuanian
SSR prosecutor's office "had instituted criminal proceedings
against persons" involved in the attacks on Lithuanian customs
posts. The article, however, also said: "proceedings have not
been instituted directly with regard to the illegality of attacks
involving physical force, but for the purpose of verifying reports
of these instances by newspapers and citizens." Lithuanians doubtless
will treat the investigation with great skepticism since the
prosecutor is not accountable to the Republic of Lithuania, but
to the USSR Prosecutor General, whose recent report on the January
military attack in Vilnius was condemned as false. (Saulius Girnius)


POLAND AND LATVIA SIGN FRIENDSHIP DECLARATION. On June 13 Poland
and Latvia signed a Declaration of Friendship which commits both
sides to resume full diplomatic relations "at the appropriate
time," reported PAP that day. At the signing ceremony in Warsaw,
Latvian Foreign Minister Janis Jurkans said his country was "very
grateful" to the Polish government and noted that the accord
was an important step toward winning full independence for Latvia.
His Polish counterpart Krzysztof Skubiszewski said Warsaw supports
Latvia's aspirations and admires the determination of the Latvian
nation, adding that Latvia has a friend in Poland. The declaration
commits both sides to closer economic, cultural and environmental
cooperation. (Wladyslaw Minkiewicz)

CHERNOBYL VICTIMS END HUNGER STRIKE. The Chernobyl victims ended
their hunger strike yesterday in Riga after the Latvian Supreme
Council adopted a decision on a program of aid to them. The decision
did not include ratification of the USSR decision of May 12 concerning
compensation to Chernobyl victims--a key demand of the strikers--but
instead called on the Latvian delegation taking part in the Latvian-USSR
consultations to deal with the issue on an inter-state level
at the next meeting. The decision also provides for a special
working group under the Latvian Council of Ministers to deal
with more immediate problems; representatives of the Chernobyl
victims are to participate in the working group, reported Radio
Riga on June 13. (Dzintra Bungs)

LATVIAN-USSR BANK ACCORD. On June 12, at the conclusion of a
meeting of representatives of the Baltic and USSR central banks,
the Latvian and Soviet sides signed an agreement to coordinate
their policies and actions. Chairman of the Bank of the Republic
of Latvia Pavils Sakss told Diena of June 12 that relations,
defined by an accord, will be maintained with the Soviet bank
as along as the ruble is used in Latvia, and probably even after
Latvia has its own currency. (Dzintra Bungs)

GERMAN-BALTIC PARLIAMENTARY FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE. German Bundestag
deputies formed a German-Baltic Parliamentary Friendship Circle
on June 12. In an interview with an RFE/RL correspondent in Bonn,
Christian Democrat Wolfgang von Stetten said that he was elected
chairman of the group. The circle intends to support the establishment
of a Baltic information center with three separate offices in
Bonn and proposed that the Bundestag's Foreign Affairs Committee
should open German information centers in each of the Baltic
States. Von Stetten said that Christian Democrat Stefan Schwarz
will be in charge of Lithuania, Social Democrat Stephan Hilsberg--Latvia,
and Free Democrat Arno Schmidt--Estonia. At least 90 Bundestag
deputies have joined the circle. (Gytis Liulevicius)


USSR - ALL-UNION TOPICS


GORBACHEV INVITED TO MEET G-7 LEADERS. After nearly two months
of confusion, speculation, hedging, and lobbying, it's official:
Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has been invited to London
in mid-July to meet with the leaders of the Group of Seven. Western
newspapers report today (June 14) that British Prime Minister
John Major yesterday issued a formal invitation to Gorbachev
to meet with the G-7 leaders, but only after their annual summit
is over. Gorbachev reportedly will arrive the morning of July
17, the last day of the summit, and will have a working meeting
and lunch with the G-7 leaders. This compromise will allow Gorbachev
to make his pitch for aid to the group, without the appearance
of his being a full participant in the G-7 meeting. (Sallie Wise)


BESSMERTNYKH ADMISSION ON NUKES. Foreign Minister Aleksandr Bessmertnykh
at a press conference June 13 marking the end of his two-day
visit to Bonn, said that "a certain number" of nuclear arms are
stationed at Soviet bases in eastern Germany. Bessmertnykh did
not mention how many such weapons exist or their location, but
offered assurances that their withdrawal would be completed "very
quickly" and that Bonn would be notified as soon as the withdrawal
is complete, Western agencies reported June 13. Bessmertnykh's
revelation contradicts Defense Minister Dmitrii Yazov's reported
assurances to German Environment Minister Klaus Toepfer that
there were no nuclear or chemical weapons on former East German
territory (see Daily Report, June 4). (Suzanne Crow/Sallie Wise)


BESSMERTNYKH TOUGH ON NATO. At the same news conference, Bessmertnykh
lambasted NATO as a cold war legacy which has "no right to perpetual
existence." He insisted that future security structures in Europe
replace the North Atlantic alliance, despite the fact that NATO
is becoming more of a political entity, Western agencies reported
June 13. Bessmertnykh's comments may presage a new hardline position
from Moscow designed to put pressure on the alliance to follow
the Warsaw Pact's example. This position may have been influenced
by the results of the recent NATO meeting in Copenhagen, which
yielded an ambiguous statement on the alliance's mandate in Europe.
(Suzanne Crow)

YANAEV ALSO IN BONN. Soviet Vice President Gennadii Yanayev led
a nine-member delegation to Germany on June 13 at the invitation
of a foundation which is close to the opposition Social Democratic
Party (SDP). The delegation is scheduled to meet German President
Richard von Weizsaecker and SDP Bundestag deputies on June 14.
(NCA/Suzanne Crow)

SHEVARDNADZE IN BONN TOO. Former Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze
was received by German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher
for a private meeting in Bonn on June 13. Shevardnadze is on
a tour to promote his new book, The Future Belongs to Freedom.
Genscher hailed the book as an important contribution to new
thinking in foreign policy. For his part, German Chancellor Helmut
Kohl thanked Shevardnadze for his leading role in the German
unity process. (NCA/Suzanne Crow)

SHEVARDNADZE COY ON POLITICAL FUTURE. In an interview with Germany's
ZDF television, Shevardnadze finessed questions about his plans
for a future role in politics. "I am in politics!," Shevardnadze
replied when asked if he wished to return to the political arena.
Asked again, Shevardnadze offered the equivalent of "time will
tell." These remarks followed Shevardnadze's statement that he
"welcomes the election of Boris Yeltsin" to the RSFSR Presidency.
(Suzanne Crow)

EBRD TO HELP SET UP NEW SOVIET BANK. The European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development announced June 11 that it will advise the organizational
committee of the State Bank of the USSR on setting up an investment
bank in Moscow, The Financial Times reported June 12. The FT
report also said that the ERBD has submitted recommendations
for Soviet economic reform to be considered at the G-7 summit
next month. Among them is the advice that the USSR should act
within six months to stabilize its economy and begin a shift
toward the private sector. (Sallie Wise)

REVENKO ON UNION TREATY. Commenting on the prospects for the
Union treaty in the wake of Yeltsin's election as Russian president,
Grigorii Revenko, Gorbachev's adviser on nationalities policy,
said he believed a treaty could be agreed this year, Western
agencies reported June 14. He even believed the six republics
demanding independence might reconsider. Revenko said that he
thought that about nine months would be needed after the treaty
was signed to draft and adopt a new Soviet constitution, and
a further six to adopt a new electoral law and hold elections
for the USSR president. (Ann Sheehy)

GRINEV ON UNION TREATY. Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Supreme
Soviet Vladimir Grinev was less optimistic about quick agreement
on a Union treaty. He told Western agencies it would be hard
for the center to resist a Russia headed by Yeltsin and a Ukraine
bent on sovereignty. Ukraine, with the RSFSR, was resisting the
concept of federal taxes, and feared that Moscow would keep its
grip on the central state bank. Grinev said the Ukrainian parliament
was very seriously considering introducing its own currency,
possibly parallel to the ruble. (Ann Sheehy)

DEFENSE MINISTRY DENIES SOVIET GULF DEATHS. Responding to allegations
made by seventeen members of the RSFSR Congress of People's Deputies,
the Soviet Defense Ministry has again denied that Soviet troops
took part in the Gulf War or that any Soviet soldiers were killed
there. The Defense Ministry statements appeared in Krasnaya zvezda
on June 8 and were reported by Novosti on June 13. The RSFSR
deputies claimed to have learned of notices telling families
that their sons had been "killed in the Persian Gulf." The Defense
Ministry asked to see at least one of the death notices. (Stephen
Foye)

MVD GENERAL ON ROLE OF INTERNAL TROOPS. Commander of the MVD
Internal Troops, Yurii Shatalin, has charged that "extremist"
military formations have been promoted to the rank of state institutions
in Armenia, Georgia, Moldavia, and the Baltic States, TASS reported
June 12. Talking about the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan,
he said that the MVD Internal Troops are able to deter confrontation
in the Transcaucasus only to a certain extent, and the ultimate
solution must be political. In an interview with Russian TV on
June 8, however, former KGB general Oleg Kalugin said there are
forces in the central government and law-enforcement agencies
which view ethnic conflicts as a consolidating factor for the
Russian heartland. (Victor Yasmann)


USSR - IN THE REPUBLICS


YELTSIN OFFICIALLY WINS, INVITED TO US. The head of the central
electoral commission, Vasilii Kazakov, officially acknowledged
Boris Yeltsin's election as RSFSR President, according TASS on
June 13. US President Bush immediately invited Yeltsin to visit
Washington D.C. on June 20 to discuss with Yeltsin his new position
and the future of the Russian republic, Western news agencies
reported on June 14. Latest figures show Yeltsin leading with
55% of the votes. He even succeeded in beating the popular reformist
Amar Tuleev in his home district, Kemerovo. (Alexander Rahr)


POPOV, AFANAS'EV OFFICIALLY ELECTED. Gavriil Popov received 65%
of the votes in the Moscow mayoral election, TASS reported June
13. His rival from the Party apparatus, Valerii Zaikin, got 16%.
After his election, Popov immediately announced by decree that
pensioners could use the city's public transportation for free.
On June 12, elections for an empty seat in the RSFSR Congress
of People's Deputies were conducted in the Moscow city May First
district. Yurii Afanas'ev--co-chairman of the Democratic Russia
Movement--won over Ivan Antonovich, the chief ideologist of the
RSFSR CP, according to Vremya on June 13. (Alexander Rahr)

GAVRIIL POPOV ON JUNE 12 ELECTIONS. Interviewed June 13 on the
RL Russian Service's "In the Country and the World" live news
show, Moscow mayor Gavriil Popov said the significance of the
June 12 elections was that Russia had chosen her own leaders
for the first time in history. Also important to note, Popov
said, is the fact that victory went to "Democratic Russia"; the
electorate was not taken in by those who tried to blame the setbacks
of the past year on the democratic movement. The fact, Popov
went on, that the CPSU could not put up a single credible candidate
was an indication of the drop in the Party's authority. Finally,
Popov said, Yeltsin's electoral victory shows that the population
approves the "9-plus-1" agreement, which augurs well for future
cooperation between the center and the Russian Republic. (Elizabeth
Teague)

ZHIRINOVSKY--A DANGEROUS POPULIST. The main sensation of the
presidential elections was the third-place finish of Liberal-Democratic
Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky. In some areas, he received
up to 20% of the votes. Zhirinovsky told Russian Television on
June 13 that if the RSFSR president had been elected not in 20
days but in three months, he would have won. Rabochaya tribuna
on June 13 reported that Zhirinovsky has filed a protest seeking
the annulment of votes received by Yeltsin because the latter
had used his official position as head of parliament to his advantage
in the elections. The Russian TV news show Vesti on June 13 stressed
the danger of a populist like Zhirinovsky and compared him with
the emergence of Stalin and Hitler in the 1920s. (Alexander Rahr)


ROY MEDVEDEV ALLEGES YELTSIN SUICIDE ATTEMPT. Historian Roy Medvedev
denounced Yeltsin in an article published in Sovetskaya Rossiya
on June 8 for "unscrupulously exploiting" Andrei Sakharov's name
in the RSFSR presidential electoral campaign. Medvedev called
Yeltsin a party apparatchik purely of the Brezhnev mold. He charged
that Yeltsin became an opponent of the Kremlin leadership only
because he was denied full membership in the Politburo in the
summer of 1987. Medvedev alleged that after he was criticized
at the Party plenum, Yeltsin "tried to commit suicide with a
sharp pair of scissors used for cutting paper" and that that
was the reason why he was hospitalized. (Alexander Rahr)

ELECTIONS IN TATARSTAN. Less than half those on the electoral
roll took part in the RSFSR presidential elections in Tatarstan,
TASS reported June 13. There had been strong opposition from
Tatar political organizations to holding the elections in the
republic on the grounds that they infringed upon Tatar sovereignty.
In the elections to the Tatar presidency also held June 12, the
sole candidate, the incumbent chairman of the Tatarstan Supreme
Soviet Mintimer Shaimiev, received 73% of the votes cast, RFE/RL
was told yesterday. The turnout was over 60%. (Ann Sheehy/Tatar-Bashkir
BD)

DAGESTAN MUSLIMS CONTINUE PROTEST AGAINST HAJ TRAVEL COSTS. Warning
shots had to be fired in Makhachkala June 13 against a crowd
of several hundred Muslims who have been demonstrating for ten
days against the cost of the pilgrimage to Mecca, Vremya and
Moscow radio reported yesterday. The crowd tried to storm the
republican Council of Ministers building and threw stones at
the militia. They want all those who have applied to go to Mecca
to be allowed to do so, and the cost reduced from 30,000 to 3,000
rubles (Vremya gave the number of applicants as over 10,000,
Moscow radio round about 3,000). The Dagestan authorities have
got the costs more than halved for 850 pilgrims. Talks with the
demonstrators are continuing. (Ann Sheehy)

UZBEKISTAN APPROVES UNION TREATY. The Uzbekistan Supreme Soviet
June 13 said it would sign the new Union treaty, TASS reported
yesterday. Like the Belorussian Supreme Soviet, it has done so
without seeing the final draft. RFE/RL was told June 13 that
the Belorussian Supreme Soviet, which has named its chairman
Mikalay Dementi to sign the treaty, had left it up to Dementi
to decide whether or not the final draft was acceptable. (Ann
Sheehy/Belorussian BD)

NEW UNIVERSITY IN KAZAKHSTAN. TASS reported June 6 that an "Eastern
University" is being opened in the town of Turkestan in southern
Kazakhstan which will offer courses in Oriental studies, including
Oriental medicine and Islam. Kazakhstan's developing ties with
Asian countries, including Turkey, Syria, Korea, China, and India,
are cited as the reason for creation of the new educational institution.
(Bess Brown)

GEORGIAN NATIONAL GUARD TRIES TO SEIZE CP PROPERTY. TASS June
12 reported that on the night of June 10, members of the Georgian
National Guard armed with submachine guns tried to confiscate
20 cars from a garage belonging to the independent Georgian CP.
After negotiations with CP First Secretary Dzhemal Mikeladze
and other leading CP functionaries, the Guards left, taking one
car with them. The Georgian MVD and KGB have disclaimed all knowledge
of the incident. Similar attempts to confiscate CP property have
been organized by local prefects. (Liz Fuller)

PROSPECTS FOR IRANIAN-AZERBAIJANI COOPERATION. Azerbaijani Prime
Minister Gasan Gasanov met in Teheran June 11 with Iranian President
Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani and called for expanding bilateral
relations. Rafsanjani was quoted by Radio Teheran (June 11) as
expressing full support for Gorbachev's policies. On June 12
Gasanov and Iranian Energy Minister Bijar Namdar-Zanganeh signed
an agreement on possible gas exports to Azerbaijan and cooperation
in the fields of shipping, railway and road construction, and
communications. IRNA June 12 reported that Gasanov has told Iranian
Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati that Azerbaijan wishes to
join the Iran-Turkey-Pakistan economic grouping. (NCA/Liz Fuller)


FRENCH CONSULATE OPENED IN KIEV. RFE/RL correspondents in Kiev
reported that French Foreign Minister Roland Dumas arrived in
Kiev June 13 for the actual opening of the French consulate there,
not, as was reported yesterday, for talks on a possible opening.
Dumas met with Ukrainian Supreme Soviet Chairman Leonid Kravchuk
and Prime Minister Vitold Fokin. (Valentyn Moroz)

STATISTICS ON CHILDREN IN UKRAINE. Children under the age of
14 constitute 20% of the republican population, Pravda Ukrainy
reported June 1. 2.4 million youngsters from 1 to 6 years of
age have a place in kindergartens, although 182,000 of them are
on the waiting list. 964,000 pupils in the republic (20% of all
urban pupils) are forced to attend school during the "second
shift" (in the afternoon) due to a shortage of schools and teachers.
The republic has 63 boarding-schools with 11,000 places for invalid
children. In 1990 medical authorities registered 478,500 children
with eye defects, 21,300 with hearing problems, 164,200 with
speech defects and 85,500 who suffered from scoliosis (spine
damage caused by rickets). (Valentyn Moroz)

UKRAINIAN AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS FOR JANUARY-APRIL. During the
first four months of 1991 Ukrainian production of meat and eggs
fell by 12% and milk production fell by 8% as compared to the
same period of 1990. Livestock also has been decreasing: the
number of cattle decreased by 3%, dairy cows by 2%, pigs by 7%,
sheep and goats by 11%, poultry by 5%. By the end of April 1991
there were 21.4 million head of cattle, among them 6.2 million
dairy cows, 12.5 million head of pigs, 8.5 million head of sheep
and goats, and 149.3 million head of poultry. From January to
April, republican agriculture produced 1,461,000 tons of meat
in live weight, 5,772,000 tons of milk, and 3,246,000,000 eggs.
(Valentyn Moroz)

CONFERENCE IN KISHINEV ON MOLOTOV-RIBBENTROP PACT. In a statement
cited by Moldovapres June 13, Moldavian parliament presidium
member and professional historian Valeriu Matei gave details
on the organization of the impending international conference
on "Overcoming the Consequences of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact,"
scheduled for June 26-28 in Kishinev, with the participation
of scholars and parliamentarians from the West, Eastern Europe,
and the USSR. Matei announced that the Moldavian parliament--which
sponsors the conference--will release at the conference a volume
of hitherto unpublished archival documents on the implementation
in Moldavia of the Nazi-Soviet accord. (Vladimir Socor)

GAGAUZ LEADER PLEASED WITH MOLDAVIA'S LAW ON CITIZENSHIP. Moldavia's
law instituting republican citizenship and separating it from
USSR citizenship, adopted by parliament June 5, was applauded
by Moldavia's highest-ranking Gagauz politician on Central Television's
TSN program June 12. Vladimir Kapanji, a member of the Moldavian
parliament's presidium, said that "as the representative of the
interests of the Gagauz people" he felt that its interests had
been fully met by the law. "In no way can one criticize it as
nationalist;" "it could not be more democratic," he said. Under
the law, all Gagauz automatically qualify for Moldavian citizenship.
(Vladimir Socor).

[as of 1300 CET]

Compiled by Patrick Moore and Sallie Wise