No. 143, 30 July 1991

BALTIC STATES



RUSSIA RECOGNIZES LITHUANIA. Russia recognized Lithuanian independence
in a treaty signed in Moscow on July 29, Radio Independent Lithuania
reported that day. The treaty stipulates that Lithuania and the
RSFSR recognize each other as "sovereign states," specifically
mentioning the Lithuanian independence declaration of March 11,
1990. During a press conference following the signing, Lithuanian
Supreme Council Chairman Vytautas Landsbergis urged other states
to follow Russia's example, and hoped that the USSR would "start
real negotiations with Lithuania. RSFSR President Boris Yeltsin
said the treaty has "great historical significance." (Gytis Liulevicius)


SENATE MOVES ON AID TO BALTICS. The US Senate passed a foreign
aid bill on July 26 with amendments banning aid to the USSR unless
it guarantees equitable distribution to the Baltic States and
Soviet republics, an RFE/RL correspondent in Washington reported
July 30. The Senate legislation is virtually identical to the
House foreign aid bill passed last month. Both bills also ban
any aid to the USSR until it returns property seized in the Baltic
States since January 1 of this year. The Senate version earmarks
$10 million a year in technical aid for 1992 and 1993, with half
going directly to the Baltic States, the other half to democratically
elected local governments in the USSR and "eligible" non-governmental
organizations. $20 million in humanitarian aid would be for the
Baltic States alone. A final version of the foreign aid bill
is expected in September. (Gytis Liulevicius)

US DIPLOMATS TALK WITH BALTIC REPRESENTATIVES IN MOSCOW. Janis
Peters, Latvian permanent representative in Moscow, told Radio
Riga on July 29 that earlier that day two US diplomats--member
of President George Bush's delegation Alexander Vershbow and
US Embassy officer Judith Mandel--came to the Latvian representation
to talk about US aid to the Baltics. They said that given the
special status of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, economic aid
to the Baltics would be distinguished from the aid to the USSR.
Also present at the short meeting was the Estonian representative
in Moscow. (Dzintra Bungs)

REPEATED ATTACKS ON LATVIAN CUSTOMS POST. Radio Riga reported
on July 29 about two attacks July 28 on the Rainis customs post
(Bauska raion) near the Lithuanian border. The first assault
was shortly after midnight and the second one around midday.
The customs officials were beaten up, equipment and money was
stolen, and hand grenades were thrown at the post. The eleven
attackers, dressed in civilian clothes, are believed to be members
of the Riga-based OMON unit. The Rainis customs post has been
attacked previously by the Black Berets. (Dzintra Bungs)

CRIME INCREASES IN LATVIA. There has been a 21.4% rise in the
number of crimes committed in Latvia during the first four months
of this year, as compared with the same period in 1990. The overall
number for 1991, according to Atmoda of June 20, is 15,407. The
greatest jump has been in thefts of public property (up 66%),
thefts from stores and commercial enterprises (up 44.9%), and
thefts of personal property (up 33.6%). Included in the last
figure are thefts of personal property as a result of breaking
into a home--up 63.4%. The number of violent crimes has also
grown: murders--up 14.1%, rape and attempted rape--up 17%, though
the number of physical assaults declined slightly--down 1.3%.
(Dzintra Bungs)

CRIME AT RIGA PORT RISES. Compared with figures for the first
half of 1990, crime, especially thefts, has increased by 40%
at the Riga commercial port, Radio Riga reported July 29. The
main reasons for the rise are shortages of foodstuffs and consumer
goods in stores and inadequate security measures taken by the
port authorities. Thefts are usually organized by groups, which
include dock workers and often also security guards. Most of
the goods are removed illegally while they are loaded from ships
to either railroad cars or trucks. Among the items most freqently
stolen are citrus fruit, meat, grain, and cattle feed. The KGB,
which used to help patrol the docks, has stopped this activity
in recent months, despite the fact that its leadership has stated
that it would focus more on economic than political crimes. (Dzintra
Bungs)

ANTI-SEMITIC PROPAGANDIST TO TEACH BALTS? As noted in the Daily
Report of July 25, leaders of the pro-Moscow Communist Party
organizations of the three Baltic States were in Minsk July 19
for talks with Belorussian CP First Secretary Anatolii Malofeev
that led to wide-ranging cooperation agreements. More material
became available in the July 20 issue of Zvyazda. Of special
interest: seminars and training courses will be held for Baltic
Communists at the Belorussian Central Committee's Institute for
Political Science and Social Direction. The Institute's rector,
Savelii Pavlov, is the former ideological secretary of the Belorussian
CP who reportedly fashioned the Party's anti-Semitic propaganda
campaigns. (Kathy Mihalisko)


USSR - ALL-UNION TOPICS



SUMMIT OPENS. US President George Bush and Soviet President Mikhail
Gorbachev began their two-day summit meeting in Moscow this morning
(July 30), RFE/RL's correspondent in Moscow reported. In welcoming
Bush to the Kremlin, Gorbachev said that "a great deal in world
politics will continue to depend on how the Soviet Union and
the United States interact with each other. For the first time
ever, our two countries have a chance to build their relations
on the natural basis of universal human values and national interests.
We are beginning to realize that we need each other, that the
security of internal stability and dynamic development of each
of our two countries benefits both of them." (Sallie Wise)

YELTSIN AND NAZARBAEV IN SUMMIT DELEGATION. In a nod to their
pivotal role in hammering out the new Union treaty, Gorbachev
has invited Yeltsin and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev
to attend a working meeting with Bush later today as part of
the Soviet delegation. They will also attend n official reception
for Bush. According to today's (July 30) Washington Post, Foreign
Ministry spokesman Vitalii Churkin said that the USSR is "a new
country, a country where we have a different attitude toward
repuiblics, and they are going to have a higher profile, including
a higher foreign policy profile." Gorbachev's spokesman Vitalii
Ignatenko was quoted in today's Los Angeles Times as saying "an
important meeting like this should have really important representation."
(Sallie Wise)

GENERALS BACK START. A First Deputy Chief of the Soviet General
Staff, Colonel General Bronislav Omelichev, told TASS on July
29 that the START agreement would lower the level of confrontation
between the US and USSR, strengthen strategic stability, and
help the military-political situation in Europe. General Staff
Chief Mikhail Moiseev, who participated in the START negotiations,
has spoken in similar terms of the treaty. That such statements
may nevertheless be covering up some opposition within the High
Command was suggested when, on Vremya of July 29, Presidential
spokesman Vitalii Ignatenko "categorically" denied rumors that
several Defense Ministry spokesmen had problems with the treaty.
(Stephen Foye)

BESSMERTNYKH AND BAKER DISCUSS NEW ARMS AGREEMENTS. With the
START treaty not yet signed, Soviet Foreign Minister Aleksandr
Bessmertnykh has said that he and US Secretary of State James
Baker have already begun to talk about new agreements on limiting
weapons. In an interview with Novosti released today (July 30),
Bessmertnykh said the two talked yesterday about pursuing a continuous
process of arms control. Among the issues they touched upon are:
reducing conventional arms in Europe, the US "Open Skies" proposal,
limitation of nuclear tests, and non-proliferation of missiles
and missile technology. (Sallie Wise)

USSR CRITICIZES EFFORTS TO AID YUGOSLAVIA. Yurii Deryabin, Soviet
representative to the CSCE's Senior Officials' Committee, complained
formally about the amount of information provided by the European
Community's observer mission in Yugoslavia. Soviet Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Vitalii Churkin reported on the Soviet complaint on
July 29, stating that the Senior Officials' Committee is being
denied the means to perform its duties owing to the paucity of
information provided by the EC mission. "Although they have performed
a certain positive job, they are not the mission of the CSCE,
as far as the recommendations of the Senior Officials' Committee
is concerned," Churkin was quoted by TASS as saying. (Suzanne
Crow)

MARKOVIC GOING TO MOSCOW. Yugoslav Prime Minister Ante Markovic
plans to go to Moscow for two days of talks at the end of this
week, TASS reported July 29. TASS announced that Markovic would
make a working visit at the invitation of the Soviet Cabinet
of Ministers on August 1-2. (Sallie Wise)

GERMANY DISPLEASED WITH WITHDRAWAL. According to an internal
German defense ministry report excerpted in Die Welt (July 29),
Bonn is disappointed by the pace of the Soviet troop withdrawal
and efforts by the Soviet military to use the withdrawal to fight
their own domestic battles. Specifically, the report lamented
the Soviet military's attempts to blame the pace of the withdrawal
on the absence of housing for returning soldiers in the USSR.
The report claimed that Bonn has made it clear to the Soviet
side that agreements between the USSR and Germany are binding.
(Suzanne Crow)n

BESSMERTNYKH CALLS FOR MIDEAST CONFERENCE. Bessemrtnykh called
on July 29 for a Middle East peace conference to be convened
by the end of this year, Western agencies reported the same day.
Saying that "the time is ripe" for such a conference, Bessmertnykh
cautioned that "certain problems could arise" in the event of
a delay in bringing Israel together with its Arab foes. (Sallie
Wise)

HIGHER FEES FOR PASSPORTS AND VISAS. With retroactive effect
to July 1, the fees for issuing passports and for a variety of
visas and citizenship papers for Soviet citizens and for foreigners
have been changed, mostly in the upward direction, TASS reported
June 29. The fee for a Soviet passport for foreign travel has
been increased to 1,000 rubles (i.e., by a factor of five). The
charge for the acquisition of Soviet citizenship or for giving
it up is now 500 rubles. Foreign visitors will now have to pay
100 rubles for tourist visas. According to AFP of July 29, details
of the new charges appear in Izvestia of that date. (Keith Bush)


DID KAGANOVICH MISS A POLITICAL COMEBACK? Lazar Kaganovich, Stalin's
henchman who died in Moscow July 25, may have missed a political
comeback, albeit probably not so impressive as those of Yeltsin
and Geidar Aliev. Radio Rossii broadcast July 29 a segment from
the second congress of the Stalinist movement "Unity for Leninsm
and Communist Ideals" held in Minsk on July 13 and 14. (The group,
led by Leningrad teacher Nina Andreeva, urges that Gorbachev
and his team be expelled from the CPSU and tried for having destroyed
socialism in the Soviet Union.) Listeners heard a delegate suggesting
that Kaganovich be elected the honorary president of the movement.
(Julia Wishnevsky)

SOME MILITARY COUPS ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS. In the past, the
Soviet military reacted negatively to discussion of a possible
coup, but, more recently, they seem to like the idea. For example,
the 10th issue of the newspaper of the MVD Internal Troops, Soglasie,
contains an article by B. Pashentsev arguing that "the military
in power" might not be altogether a bad thing. There could be
"reactionary" (bad) military coups and "progressive" (good) ones,
Pashentsev explains. The "progressive" military coming to power,
the author elaborates, is not an end in itself but an extreme
attempt to transfer powers to the workers. Although Pashentsev
tries to establish that "the experience of 1,500 military coups
in the world is useful for our country," he does not cite a single
example of a "good" military coup in world history. (Julia Wishnevsky)


MOSCOW NEWS AND SPUTNIK BANNED IN VIETNAM. The August 1 issue
of the Far Eastern Economic Review reports that subscribers to
these two well-known Soviet publications have not been receiving
their copies ever since the recent Vietnamese party congress.
That gathering saw a reiforcement of hard-line policies and personalities.
Hanoi as also been drawing closer to Peking as Moscow reduces
its economic, political, and military presence in Vietnam. (Patrick
Moore)

MENINGITIS OUTBREAK SUSPECTED IN FAR EAST. Doctors in Komsomolsk-na-Amure
in the Soviet Far East suspect that meningitis is to blame for
the hospitalization of about 100 children in the city, TASS reported
July 29. TASS cited doctors as saying they believe poor quality
drinking water caused the outbreak of illness among children
at several different kindergartens. A city health official said
the outbreak is unusual, since only one or two cases of meningitis
are reported in the city each year. According to TASS, Komsomolsk-na-Amure
suffers from a chronic lack of drinking water and an inadequate
water treatment system. (Sallie Wise)


USSR - IN THE REPUBLICS



YELTSIN WILL NOT SUSPEND DECREE. Yeltsin told reporters in Moscow
on July 29 that he has no plans to suspend his July 20 decree
on "departification," TASS reported the same day. Yeltsin was
quoted by Western news agencies as saying that he did not think
Gorbachev would issue a counteracting decree, but that if he
did, "it will seriously [upset the balance of] our relationship."
(Dawn Mann)

SLAVOPHILE WRITERS SPLIT OVER YELTSIN. The RSFSR presidential
elections have caused a split among Russian nationalist writers,
exemplified by an interview given to Vesti July 26 by Siberian
novelist, Viktor Astaf'ev, who attacked his close friend Valentin
Rasputin. Rasputin, Yurii Bondarev, Aleksandr Prokhanov, as well
as a number of top military and Party officials, had signed a
letter to the editor of Sovetskaya Rossiya that all but called
on for a coup d'etat against the elected USSR and RSFSR governments.)
Astaf'ev termed the letter "hypocrisy," "pharisaism," and "deception,"
and called on the Rusian people not to trust "that blackhundred
newspaper" [Sovetskaya Rossiya]. Rasputin's support for Nikolai
Ryzhkov against Yeltsin in the RSFSR presidential elections was
also strongly criticized by another "village" writer, Boris Mozhaev,
on the front page of Literaturnaya gazeta of July 17. (Julia
Wishnevsky)

ANOTHER VIOLENT ANTI-GYPSY PROTEST. A clash between local inhabitants
and gypsy families has taken place in Alapaevsk, a raion center
in Sverdlovsk oblast, Izvestia reported July 23. About three
hundred people took part, over twenty were injured, and one person
died from gunshot wounds. The trouble started after the local
authorities refused to give in to an ultimatum from a group of
local youths demanding that gypsies be expelled from the town
within 24 hours. Order has been restored with the aid of reinforcements
from elsewhere, and the streets are being patrolled by armed
detachments. (Ann Sheehy)

CHECHEN RAION TO BE RECREATED IN DAGESTAN. The Dagestan parliament
has decreed that Aukhovsky raion, from which the Chechen-Akkintsy
were deported en masse in 1944, should be restored, its settlements
given back their historical names, and any Chechens who wish
to do so be allowed to take up residence there, Izvestia and
Pravda reported July 24 and 25, respectively. The Chechen-Akkintsy
have been petitioning for this for years, and the matter has
been a cause of considerable interethnic tension. The Laks, who
were forcibly resettled in Aukhovsky raion after the Chechens
were deported, will be given new territory. The changes will
take place over the period 1991-96. (Ann Sheehy)

BUSH'S ITINERARY IN KIEV. President Bush will arrive at 12:50
P.M. August 1 at Kiev's Borispol airport where he will be met
by Supreme Soviet chairman Leonid Kravchuk. From there he will
go the Supreme Soviet for a private talk with Kravchuk and a
meeting with the highest-ranking members of the Ukrainian parliament.
After lunch, Bush will address the Supreme Soviet on the subject
of American relations with the Soviet republics, then go on a
sightseeing tour which will include St. Sofia Cathedral and the
Babi Yar Memorial. Bush will be the first incumbent US President
to visit Kiev since Richard Nixon's visit on May 29, 1972, after
the signing of the SALT agreement. (Kathy Mihalisko)

CONGRESS OF OFFICERS OF UKRAINE ENDS. The congress, which took
place in Kiev over the weekend, was attended by approximately
320 people, half of whom were reserve officers, according to
TASS July 29. In addition to discussing the idea of a national
Ukrainian army and the general political situation in the republic,
participants sharply criticized the CPSU, the Union treaty, and
the Soviet army, which was termed an "occupation" force serving
"imperial ends." The congress voted to create a committee of
Ukrainian officers. In Novoe vremya, No. 26, a member of the
Republican Party estimated that Ukraine would save 70 billion
rubles a year by maintaining its own professional army of 300,000
men or less. (Kathy Mihalisko)

MORE UZBEK OFFICERS? According to Krasnaya zvezda of July 12,
some 1,000 young Uzbek men will enter military academies this
fall as the result of a new affirmative action program instituted
by the Soviet armed forces. The program reportedly stems from
an agreement recently signed by the General Staff and the government
of Uzbekistan. To date, the officer corps has remained approximately
80% Russian and 90% Slavic, and an earlier affirmative action
style program, instituted in the early 1980's, apparently did
little to change that ratio. Entrance by minorities into the
officer corps has generally implied Russification, and it will
be interesting to see if the present program encourages more
Uzbek officer candidates. (Stephen Foye)

WATER PURIFICATION PLANT IN TURKMENISTAN CAN'T FUNCTION. The
water purification plant in Ashkhabad, built by an Italian firm
and equipped with French machinery and opened with great fanfare
earlier in the year, can function only at night, according to
Vremya on July 29. The plant was to have been provided with air-conditioners
to maintain the temperatures necessary for the imported equipment,
but the Ostankino factory that was to supply them has not done
so. (Bess Brown)

JOINT STOCK COMPANY TO BUILD POWER PLANT IN KAZAKHSTAN. TASS
reported on July 29 that a joint stock company has been established
to build a hydroelectric station to provide power for agriculture
in the Alma Ata region, after Kazakhstan's ministry of power
and electrification said that it had no money to finance the
project. According to the report, half of the new company's capital
is being supplied by local food-processing enterprises. It appears
to be the first new enterprise to be established under the law
on privatization adopted by Kazakhstan's Supreme Soviet in June.
(Jean Riollot/Bess Brown)

ZHIRINOVSKY IN MOLDAVIA. Unsuccessful RSFSR-presidential candidate
and chairman of the liberal-democratic party Vladimir Zhirinovsky
has said that his current visit to the predominantly Slav-inhabited
Dnieper area of Moldavia is a continuation of his election campaign,
TASS reported July 29. Zhirinovsky said he is convinced Yeltsin
will not long remain in power and he, Zhirinovsky, will become
Russian president as a result of elections in which Russians
in the whole world will participate. Zhirinovsky suggested that
"a great Russian empire" should be created instead of the present
USSR, and that Moldavia should become the Kishinev guberniya.
(Ann Sheehy)