No. 117, 21 June 1991

BALTIC STATES



BALTIC QUESTION AT CSCE CONFERENCE. At the concluding meeting
of the CSCE conference in Berlin on June 20, Danish Foreign Minister
Uffe Ellemann-Jensen urged Moscow to refrain from violence and
intimidation in the Baltic republics and to open negotiations
on their independence, Western agencies reported that day. USSR
Deputy Foreign Minister Yulii Kvitsinsky responded that the Baltics
were an internal Soviet affair that should not be discussed at
the CSCE. That day the three Baltic foreign ministers met with
German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher for a second time.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Algirdas Saudargas expressed his
satisfaction with the conference, noting the creation of an informal
group of statesmen from CSCE nations to support the Baltic states,
Radio Vilnius reported that day. (Saulius Girnius)

LANDSBERGIS MEETS MITTERAND. Lithuanian Supreme Council Chairman
Vytautas Landsbergis held talks with French President Francois
Mitterrand in Paris on June 20 for more than an hour, VOA's Lithuanian
Service reported June 21. Landsbergis informed Mitterrand about
the current situation in Lithuania, its efforts to gain recognition
and aid from abroad. Mitterrand expressed concern regarding Soviet
attacks on Baltic customs posts, and said that he would discuss
the matter with British Prime Minister John Major and German
Chancellor Helmut Kohl. The two leaders also discussed the establishment
of a Lithuanian information center in Paris and a French counterpart
in Vilnius. (Gytis Liulevicius)

GENOCIDE OF JEWS REMEMBERED IN LITHUANIA. On June 21 Radio Independent
Lithuania reported that the genocide of Jews in Lithuania was
commemorated on June 20 in Vilnius with the dedication of a monument
in memory of the 70,000 Jews who perished there under Nazi rule.
More than 100 relatives of the victims, headed by Israeli Knesset
President Dov Shilanski, attended the ceremonies that were broadcast
directly (via satellite) to Israel. Prime Minister Gediminas
Vagnorius and deputy parliament chairman Kazimieras Motieka spoke
at the ceremonies. On June 21 two exhibits commemorating the
tragedy will open at the Jewish Museum and the Palace of Art
Exhibitions. Other commemorative services will be held in Kaunas
and at the former Pravieniskes concentration camp on June 22.
(Saulius Girnius)

GOVERNMENT DECREE FOR GHETTO PRISONERS. On June 20 the Lithuanian
government issued a decree entitling former ghetto prisoners
to the same compensation benefits as rehabilitated deportees
from the Republic of Lithuania. It also established a commission,
headed by parliament deputy Emanuelis Zingeris, to determine
how to commemorate the memory of the prisoners of the Kaunas
and Siauliai ghettoes. It also granted the Lithuanian Jewish
Cultural Center 100,000 rubles, and called on local authorities
to ensure the upkeep of Jewish graves and other memorial sites.
(Gytis Liulevicius)



USSR - ALL-UNION TOPICS



GORBACHEV WANTS FASTER DISMANTLING OF OLD SYSTEM. USSR President
Mikhail Gorbachev is fighting back hardliners' attempts to push
him from power. Yesterday he accused them of being "out of touch"
with the country, and said that the Soviet Union would seek Western
assistance to finance a rapid transition to the market economy,
according to The Los Angeles Times on June 21. Gorbachev stressed,
during a meeting with President of the European Commission Jacques
Delors, that it is now necessary to speed up the pace of Soviet
reforms, so as to complete the dismantling of the old system
and create a new one, TASS reported on June 20. (Alexander Rahr)


DELORS: USSR SHOULDN'T EXPECT MIRACLES FROM WEST. Delors met
with Gorbachev and Prime Minister Valentin Pavlov yesterday (June
20) to discuss plans for Soviet economic reform and EC aid to
the USSR. During Delors' visit, a program for technical assistance
was initialled, TASS reported June 20. At a press conference
after his meeting with Gorbachev, Delors cautioned that Gorbachev
should not "expect miracles" from his meeting with G-7 leaders
next month, Western agencies reported. Meanwhile, TASS reported
June 19 that the first shipment of EC food aid has arrived in
Moscow and is being distributed to hospitals, orphanages, and
needy families. (Sallie Wise)

CSCE PLAN FOR CRISIS MEETINGS. The CSCE foreign ministers' conference
which ended in Berlin yesterday produced a mechanism to convene
meetings in the event of crises that threaten European security.
RFE/RL's correspondent in Berlin and Western agencies reported
June 20 that the plan would allow any CSCE member-state to call
for a meeting in the event of an emergency situation, as long
as it is supported by eleven other member-states. No country
can delay a meeting, even if it disputes the reason for convening
it. The CSCE principle of consensus will still apply to resolutions
passed by such meetings, meaning that any one country can veto
proposed action. But diplomats in Berlin called the mechanism
a step forward. The USSR had opposed the plan as threatening
intervention in internal affairs. (Sallie Wise)

WHAT THE CSCE MECHANISM IMPLIES. Although diplomats in Berlin
conceded that the plan lacks teeth when it comes to actually
solving crises, it nevertheless provides a forum for discussing
the causes of a crisis. Many diplomats seemed to have the recent
case of violence in the Baltic States in mind. In the event of
any future violence there, for instance, the USSR could be queried
about the situation and could not block CSCE debate on the issue,
although it could veto the dispatch of a fact-finding mission
to the scene of the emergency. (Sallie Wise)

BAKER, BESSMERTNYKH FAIL TO REACH START AGREEMENT. US Secretary
of State James Baker and Soviet Foreign Minister Aleksandr Bessmertnykh
failed to reach agreement on a START treaty following a two-hour
meeting in Berlin on June 20, Western agencies reported. The
hold-up stems from nagging disagreements on three issues: the
number of warheads to be loaded onto each missile; the means
by which missile test information is transmitted; and the rules
for defining new types of missiles. While the two ministers seemed
to indicate that differences had narrowed somewhat, Baker was
more pessimistic than Bessmertnykh about a quick break-through
that would open the way for a summit. (Stephen Foye)

GERMANY TO COMMEMORATE INVASION. German Chancellor Helmut Kohl
will speak on Soviet television on June 22 to mark the 50th anniversary
of the Nazi attack on the USSR. Based on Soviet speculation this
week that Kohl would visit the USSR on or near this anniversary,
it appears that the Kremlin favored a personal appearance and
speech by Kohl marking the anniversary (see Daily Report, June
19). Meanwhile, Kohl said on June 20 that his trip to the Soviet
Union would take place within the next two weeks, before the
G-7 summit in London, agencies and German television reported
June 20. (Suzanne Crow)

SOVIET-GERMAN COMMEMORATION OF INVASION. German President Richard
von Weizsäcker, along with Soviet ambassador to Germany Vladislav
Terekhov and Commander of the GSFG, General Matvei Burlakov,
will lay wreaths at the Soviet and German memorials at cemeteries
near Potsdam on June 22. (Suzanne Crow)

BONN, MOSCOW AGREE ON CONTRACTS. The German Economics Ministry
June 20 reported an agreement with the Soviet Union guaranteeing
German firms a certain share of the remaining contracts for building
apartments for returning Soviet soldiers. The agreement stipulates
that eastern German enterprises will receive at least 20% of
all work, regardless of who is the main contractor. It says 70%
of the building materials must be purchased from German firms.
(Suzanne Crow)

GERMAN OFFER TAKES USSR BY SURPRISE. Soviet UN mission spokesman
Yurii Chizhik told RFE/RL's UN correspondent on June 20 that
his government was "surprised" by Germany's offer to hold the
proposed 1993 world conference on human rights in Berlin. Germany's
ambassador to the UN, Detlev Rantzau, made the suggestion in
a letter to UN General Secretary Javier Perez de Cuellar. Chizhik
said his government had "more or less taken it for granted" that
the meeting would take place in the USSR. The USSR has long pressed
the UN for such an event and last year offered Moscow as the
venue. The UN will consider both invitations when the General
Assembly convenes this fall. (Suzanne Crow)

SOVIETS OFFER MIG-31'S TO ISRAEL. Soviet Aircraft Industry Minister
Apollon Systsov reportedly shocked Israeli Defense Minister Moshe
Arens at the Paris Air Show on June 19 when he offered to sell
Israel any defensive weaponry it might want, including advanced
MIG-31 fighters. Western agencies reported that Systsov told
Arens in front of reporters that "with just three MIG-31's, you
could protect all of Israel." Systsov said that the sales would
have to wait until full diplomatic relations were established
with Israel, but claimed this would happen very soon. He also
disclosed that Moscow and Israel had agreed to jointly produce
a civilian executive jet, called the Astra IV. (Stephen Foye)


CUBA DISCUSSED. Soviet Foreign Minister Aleksandr Bessmertnykh
said on June 20 the United States and Soviet Union "have discussed
the situation around Cuba..." and "what the Soviet Union was
doing in helping to first stabilize and then to improve the relationship
between Cuba and the United States." Bessmertnykh hinted that
the USSR is putting pressure on Cuba to refrain from aiding Salvadoran
rebels. Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American
Affairs Bernard Aronson, said on June 20 that the USSR is "reluctant
to jettison a 32-year-old relationship" with Cuba, Knight-Ridder
newspapers and the Journal of Commerce reported June 21. (Suzanne
Crow)

KARMAL REPORTED BACK IN KABUL. Former Afghan President Babrak
Karmal, who has spent the last five years in exile in the USSR,
reportedly has returned to Afghanistan, according to Western
agencies June 20. He is said to have arrived in Kabul by air
yesterday. Karmal was seen to address a group of Afghan students
at Sheremetevo airport before leaving, saying his return was
"a result of a decision of the people and the party." (Sallie
Wise)

VOLKOGONOV FIRED OVER WWII HISTORY? There are reports out of
Moscow that Colonel-General Dmitrii Volkogonov, chief of the
Defense Ministry's Institute of Military History, has been fired
as a result of criticism directed at a history of World War II
produced by his institute. Nezavisimaya gazeta reported on June
19 that it had "recently" heard of Volkogonov's replacement.
It also claimed that the first volume of History of the Patriotic
War, edited by Volkogonov's institute, will not be published.
Volkogonov reportedly pointed to the April issue of Voenno-Istorichesky
zhurnal--in which Marshal Sergei Akhromeev called him a "crying
anticommunist"--as the reason for his removal. On June 20, according
to Soviet media sources, Akhromeev told reporters he had banned
publication of Volkogonov's history because it was full of lies
and inaccuracies. (Stephen Foye)

PAVLOV, SILAEV, AND YAVLINSKY. TASS June 20 reviewed the positions
regarding the Yavlinsky-Harvard plan of two important players
in the USSR economic reform debate, Prime Minister Pavlov and
RSFSR Prime Minister Ivan Silaev. Pavlov is maintaining his objections
to the plan, arguing that it undermines his government's anti-crisis
program which nine republics have signed. Silaev, on the other
hand, said he supported the Yavlinsky-Harvard plan, but did not
intend to stray from the program for economic reform developed
for the RSFSR. Silaev had earlier been more supportive of Yavlinsky's
efforts, calling the young, radical economist a valued adviser.
(John Tedstrom)

MARXIST PLATFORM CALLS FOR EARLY CPSU CONGRESS. Charging that
the actions of Gorbachev and other leaders are in direct conflict
with their declared support of the Soviet Union's socialist choice,
the Marxist Platform has issued a call for the convening of the
29th Party Congress at the end of this year, TASS reported June
20. Prior to the congress, the Marxist Platform, which places
itself on the middle of the political spectrum inside the CPSU,
wants a general Party discussion on the Party's situation and
its new program to be held. The aim of the discussion and the
congress would be to clearly define the Party's political stance
and its programmatic aims. (Dawn Mann)

COMMUNIST INITIATIVE TO MEET. The Movement of Communist Initiative
(DKI), which groups orthodox Communists from across the Soviet
Union, will meet in Moscow on June 29-30, TASS reported June
20. This meeting marks a continuation of the DKI's second congress,
which opened last month in Leningrad. The DKI is crafting a draft
program for the CPSU that would re-instate the pre-perestroika
approach to political, economic, and social life. DKI charges
that the Party's leaders have betrayed the principles of Marxism.
(Dawn Mann)

ZHIRINOVSKY WANTS TO RUN FOR USSR PRESIDENCY. The leader of the
Liberal-Democratic Party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, said he wants
to run for President of the Soviet Union, according to TASS on
June 20. Zhirinovsky, who placed third in the RSFSR presidential
elections, advocates reinstituting the Russian empire on the
territory of the Soviet Union. He is said to be supported by
hardliners in the KGB. The next USSR presidential elections are
scheduled for March 1995. But according to the April 23 agreement
between Gorbachev and nine republican leaders, they could be
held at the beginning of next year. (Alexander Rahr)

KGB ON NEW FACE OF AGENCY. The KGB is satisfied by the fact that
more than 2,000 publications about the agency were printed in
the central media last year, said Chief of the KGB Public Relations
Center Aleksandr Karabainov in an interview with Pravda June
8 and 9. (The new law on the KGB stipulates that all media reports
about the secret service must be officialy cleared by the KGB).
Karabainov said that glasnost' now extends to the KGB budget,
which is 4.9 billion rubles for this year. Karabainov did not
mention the fact that the foreign part of the KGB budget is spent
in hard currency, while KGB domestic expenses are hidden in the
budget of other institutions. In another development, the senior
officer of the Administration for Protection of the Constitutional
Order, Yury Sai, said his subdivision now is working on localization
of mass disturbances. (Victor Yasmann)

KGB ON ECONOMIC CRIMES, CORRUPTION, CONTRABAND. In the same collective
interview, Chief of the newly-created KGB Administration for
Fighting Organized Crime A. Konnov said he is concerned about
the penetration of criminal elements into political life. The
extension of international mafia activity to Soviet territory,
due to the opening of the Soviet economy, as well as fusing domestic
organized crime with the shadow economy, also poses a threat
to the economic interests of the USSR, he added. A. Grinenko
from Administration of Economic Counter-Intelligence said his
body is concentrating on preventing illegal exports from the
USSR of valuable resources, and in particular, oil products.
Last year, about 30,000 attempts to smuggle icons and other artifacts
from the USSR were reported. These are considered national assets
of the country. (Victor Yasmann)


USSR - IN THE REPUBLICS


YELTSIN DEFENDS GORBACHEV. Yeltsin said yesterday that recent
Kremlin hardliners' attempts to oust Gorbachev won't succeed.
Western news agencies June 20 quoted him as saying in Washington
that only the USSR Congress of People's Deputies could remove
Gorbachev, but that this legislative body will support the USSR
President, not Pavlov. Yeltsin emphasized that nothing in Soviet
politics could now be done without him. In a speech at Washington's
National Press Club, Yeltsin repeated his pledge that Russia
will not turn back from the path of reform. He also said that
he intends to reduce and control the KGB on Russian soil, according
to The New York Times on June 21. (Alexander Rahr)

COMMUNISTS WANT COALITION WITH POPOV. Yurii Prokof'ev, the Moscow
Communist Party boss, said that Communists don't want to become
the opposition in the Moscow city administration. Prokof'ev told
TASS on June 20 that he and the newly elected mayor Gavriil Popov
have agreed on a coalition city government. He admitted that
the CPSU has no program for radical reform. TASS reported on
the same day that Popov's previous deputy, the reformist Nikolai
Gonchar, was elected new chairman of the Moscow City Council.
(Alexander Rahr)

ALKSNIS ADVOCATES FORCE IN GEORGIA. Soyuz leader Colonel Viktor
Alksnis told Sovetskaya Rossiya June 20 that force should be
used "strictly within the framework of the law" in order to resolve
the ongoing conflict in Georgia over Ossetian autonomy. As quoted
by agency summaries June 20, Alksnis argued that "further talks
and persuasion ... will result only in more suffering, hardship
and even bloodshed for hundreds of thousands of people", and
that Gorbachev was tackling the issue "by purely theoretical
means ... which have nothing to do with real life." (Liz Fuller)


UKRAINE AND BELORUSSIA TO ELECT PRESIDENTS. The Belorussian Supreme
Soviet voted June 20 to create the post of president of the republic,
TASS reported. Unexpectedly, a majority rejected a conservative-backed
proposal to choose the first president from among current people's
deputies. TASS did not say when the first direct election will
be held. Meanwhile, in Kiev, the Ukrainian parliament has started
to debate the issue of when to hold a presidential election in
Ukraine. Arguments were heard in favor of scheduling the ballot
as early as this autumn, according to Radio Kiev on June 20.
(Kathy Mihalisko)

QUESTIONS TO KRAVCHUK ON UNION TREATY NEGOTIATIONS. In an especially
stormy discussion on June 19 in the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet,
radical deputies demanded that chairman Leonid Kravchuk make
available stenographic reports and other materials related to
the work of the Union treaty preparation committee. They also
insisted on more glasnost' concerning the deliberations of the
central authorities in order to judge their impact on Ukrainian
interests. In a Radio Kiev-3 broadcast on June 20, people's deputy
Genrikh Altunyan was heard saying "we have the right to know
what was said about Ukraine" at a recent meeting between Grechko,
Yazov and Pugo. (Kathy Mihalisko)

ORSHA WORKERS ON HUNGER STRIKE. Members of the Orsha City Strike
Committee in Belorussia began a hunger strike this week to protest
repressive measures against local labor activists, according
to Radio Rossii and other sources on June 20. The reprisals include
a spate of dismissals from the Orsha bread factory. Two of those
on hunger strike, Mykalai Razumau and Yurii San'ka, led a blockade
in April of a major Soviet railroad artery that passes through
Orsha, for which they face possible criminal charges. The hunger
strikers were roughed up by unknown thugs on June 20. (Kathy
Mihalisko)

UKRAINIAN-ITALIAN TRADE VENTURE. The trade association "Italy-Ukraine"
has signed a cooperation agreement with the Ukrainian Association
of Small Businesses, Radio Kiev reported June 15. A number of
joint ventures are in the pipeline, the radio said. Italians
also want to open a center for advertising Ukrainian products
at the permanent trade exhibit in Verona and are willing to provide
free office space for this purpose, the report said. (Valentyn
Moroz)

UKRAINIAN BRANCH OF "DYNAMO" GAINS INDEPENDENCE FROM MOSCOW.
The Ukrainian branch of "Dynamo", a sports association serving
workers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, KGB, militia, and
customs, has been legally independent of the organization's central
authorities since last October, Sportyvna hazeta reported June
13. Recent price increases forced the Ukrainian branch's management
to revise its financial ties to the central management of "Dynamo"
as well and conduct them on an "agreement" basis. The Ukrainian
branch of "Dynamo" has continued to transfer most of its members'
dues to Moscow, but in the future it will pay the central authorities
for only those services that are agreed on in advance, such as
training of athletes and coaches, equipment supplies, etc. The
Ukrainian branch of "Dynamo" will consider itself independent
of Moscow until the new Union treaty is signed and until then
will coordinate only economic matters with Moscow. (Valentyn
Moroz)

MOLDAVIAN VOTERS' PREFERENCES POLLED. The Sociological Institute
of the Moldavian Academy of Sciences and the Romanian Institute
for the Study of Public Opinion released through Moldovapres
June 19 the results of a poll they conducted early this month
on a representative sample of Moldavia's voters. Asked how they
would vote if parliamentary elections were held the next day,
15% said they would vote for the Moldavian Popular Front; 21%
for several Moldavian groups allied to the Popular Front in the
Front-led Alliance for Independence; 8% for the (mainly Moldavian)
National Christian Party; 7% for the (multiethnic) Social-Democrat
Party (both of which favor independent Moldavian statehood);
8% for the Communist Party, and 7% for the (mainly Russian) Internationalist
Movement Edinstvo; 18% were undecided, and 16% did not intend
to vote. (Vladimir Socor)

CONSENSUS WITHIN A DIVERSIFIED SPECTRUM. The poll shows a shift
of Moldavian voters' allegiance from the Popular Front toward
the incipient political parties which have grown out of the original
Front. It also reflects the growing sophistication of Moldavian
voters in making their choice based on more than just national
criteria. The poll shows a Moldavian consensus in favor of independence
crystallizing within a diversified political spectrum. Those
voting for the Communist Party and those intending to refrain
from voting are likely to be mostly non-natives. (Vladimir Socor)


KAZAKHSTAN TO TAKE OVER JURISDICTION FOR ENTERPRISES. As of July
1, all enterprises of all-Union subordination located in Kazakhstan
will be transferred to Kazakh jurisdiction, according to Radio
Moscow June 20. This includes defense industry enterprises. One
of the major ramifications of this move will be changes in the
republic's fiscal revenues and spending patterns as enterprises
pay taxes directly to republican budgets. (John Tedstrom)