No. 191, 08 October 1991

USSR--ALL-UNION TOPICS AND RSFSR



EC AID PACKAGE APPROVED. European Community finance ministers
tentatively approved in principle a $1.5 billion food and medical
aid package for the USSR on October 7, Western agencies reported
that day. The new credit line is understood to be in addition
to the $610 million in credit guarantees and $300 million in
food donations approved by the EC in December 1990. The ministers
approved the sum on condition that similar amounts were forthcoming
from the US and Canada together, and Japan. Dutch Finance Minister
Wim Kok said that the credit facility was a contingency program
and would be "put into practice when we are sure what the needs
are." (Keith Bush)

SABUROV ON ECONOMIC TREATY. RSFSR Minister of Economics Evgenii
Saburov discussed in an interview on Central Television on October
7 the opposition in the RSFSR to the economic treaty he approved
provisionally in Alma-Ata. Saburov argued that Russia needed
the treaty and said that Russia had managed to get rid of most
of the articles it did not like. He said that the treaty had
been approved in the main by Yeltsin. It should be signed first
by Yeltsin, then ratified by the RSFSR Supreme Soviet, but Saburov
thought Yeltsin would consult the Supreme Soviet first so that
ratification did not lead to confrontation between Yeltsin and
the Supreme Soviet. (Ann Sheehy)

MUTUAL MILITARY STRUCTURES IN EUROPE PROPOSED. Representatives
of the Russian State Committee on Defense have suggested at an
international conference of American and Soviet defense experts
in Washington that the US and the Soviet Union create joint military
structures for security in Europe, according to an RFE/RL report
from Washington on October 8. Yeltsin's military adviser, General
Konstantin Kobets, stressed that a "single system unit for collective
security" is needed. Russian government officials said that the
Soviet Union has lost control over former clients in the Third
World and cannot influence policies in Vietnam or Cuba. (Alexander
Rahr)

NEW ADMINISTRATION CREATED IN RUSSIAN KGB. A new administration
has been created in the RSFSR KGB. Vesti on October 7 interviewed
Colonel Sergei Almazov, chief of the Administration for Fighting
Organized Crime, who said that his main task will be to combat
corruption at the government level. Almazov also stressed the
need to fight economic crimes. He said his administration will
closely observe the work of cooperatives and joint ventures.
The Russian KGB further strengthened its structures by taking
over an electronic intelligence service in Khabarovsk oblast,
which KGB chief Bakatin had wanted to reduce, according to Kommersant
No 38. (Alexander Rahr)

SOVIET MERCHANTMEN BARRED FROM SUEZ CANAL. Suez Canal authorities
and maritime sources reported on October 7 that 24 Soviet merchant
ships are stranded at both ends of the canal because they cannot
pay the transit tolls in advance, Western agencies reported that
day. The Aswan Maritime Agency, which handles Soviet vessels,
said that it had received no dollar transfers from Moscow in
order to pay the estimated $1million plus required for transit
tolls. (Keith Bush)

PROPOSAL FOR ECONOMIC CONFERENCE OF OBLASTS AND KRAIS. Aman Tuleev,
chairman of the Kemerovsky oblast soviet, has proposed a meeting
of representatives of oblasts and krais from all republics in
order to reach agreement on economic activities, Radio Mayak
reported October 7. In a letter to USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev
and RSFSR President Boris Yeltsin, Tuleev proposed that the meeting
be held in the Kuzbass. Tuleev's proposal is interesting, inasmuch
as any resulting agreement would likely be independent of interrepublican
relations. (John Tedstrom)

URAL-KONVERSIYA-91: Within the framework of regional cooperation
on the difficult process of converting military industries to
civilian production, an exhibition of civilian products from
the defense sector has opened in Ekaterinburg, Izvestia reported
October 3. The exhibition includes products from some 60 regional
defense plants and runs through October 11. In light of the stalled
efforts to implement a national conversion plan, regional and
local efforts have become increasingly important--and effective--substitutes.
(John Tedstrom)

HOME GUARD BEING SET UP IN TATARSTAN. Enrollment of volunteers
in home guard units has started in Kazan', TASS reported October
7, citing Sovetskaya Rossiya of October 8. The enrollment is
a reaction to the recent statement by acting chairman of the
RSFSR Supreme Soviet Ruslan Khasbulatov that the RSFSR would
"tolerate no forms of national sovereignty on its territory neither
Tatar nor Chechen-Ingush." The tasks of the home guard will be
to defend the sovereignty of the republic, see order is maintained
at mass political events, and ensure the transfer of Union and
RSFSR enterprises to the jurisdiction of the republic. (Ann Sheehy)


CPSU CC RESOLUTION ON DESTRUCTION OF ARCHIVES. Even before the
attempted coup in August, the CPSU CC issued a resolution addressed
to all Party archives instructing them to destroy documents concerning
the activities of Party officials. The RSFSR TV news program
Vesti reported October 7 it obtained a copy of the instruction
sent to the city of Ul'yanovsk. The specific instruction to the
Ul'yanovsk Party archive was to destroy 300,000 out of 500,000
documents kept there by September 1 of this year. (Vera Tolz)


PAMYAT' STARTS ITS OWN RADIO BROADCASTS. The radio station "Fatherland,
Memory and You," backed by the extremist Pamyat' National Patriotic
Front, went on the air for the first time on September 29, "Postfactum"
reported September 28. The radio's transmitter is reportedly
located in the flat of Pamyat' leader Dmitrii Vasil'ev. Vasil'ev
told "Postfactum" that the radio station has been registered
at the RSFSR Ministry of Information and Mass Media. (Vera Tolz)


NEW INDEPENDENT RADIO STATION TO START IN MOSCOW. A new private
radio station will start broadcasting in Moscow in mid-October,
Radio Mayak reported September 28. The radio station, called
"Rezonans," will stay away from political issues and will broadcast
business and stock exchange news, trade proposals, and advertisements.
(Vera Tolz)

JUNTA'S LAWYER SUES PROSECUTION. In an move unprecedented in
the USSR, a defense counsel has brought legal action against
the office of the RSFSR General Prosecutor, claiming that the
arrest of his client was illegal (Izvestia, October 2). Aleksandr Kligman
is defense counsel for Vladimir Grushko, the former KGB deputy chairman
jailed for his involvement in the coup. The warrant for Grushko's
arrest was issued by the office of RSFSR General Prosecutor Valentin
Stepankov. Even more unusual, the RSFSR Supreme Court has agreed
to consider Kligman's complaint. In an interview with Izvestia,
the court's chairman Vyacheslav Lebedev cited the International
Covenant on Human Rights as saying that such warrants should
be issued by courts of law, not by prosecutors, as provided by
Soviet law. The junta's lawyers chose to defend their clients
on the grounds that Soviet laws are defective and contradict
universally accepted human rights standards. (Julia Wishnevsky)


TWO BAKLANOVS ARE POLES APART. Grigorii Baklanov, a liberal writer
and chief editor of the pro-reform literary monthly Znamya, is
going to sue a number of French, British and Austrian newspapers
and magazines that, during the coup, published his photograph
instead of that of Oleg Baklanov, a member of the Emergency Committee,
Izvestia reported October 2. The writer's lawyer will demand
considerable financial compensation for an eventual loss in sales
of his books, Izvestia wrote, adding that the publishers of the
media concerned are lucky that Oleg Baklanov is unlikely to sue
them in turn, since prison rules forbid him access to any foreign
newspaper or journal. (Julia Wishnevsky)

RAISA RECALLS EVENTS IN CRIMEA. Raisa Gorbacheva said during
an interview on Central TV on October 6 that the Gorbachev family
and others who were detained with them in the Crimea on August
18-22 discussed the possibility of escaping but finally rejected
this option because of concern for Gorbachev's safety. She remarked
that she feels bitter when Soviet journalists portray the coup
as a humorous event, because for her family it was a tragedy.
Raisa also said that the Gorbachev's home atmosphere has become
much gloomier since the coup. (Julia Wishnevsky)

INTERNATIONAL CHRISTIAN UNION OF YOUTH AND FAMILY IN OMSK. TASS
reported on October 6 that a department of Christian Union of
Youth and Family, an international organization with branches
in 110 countries, has appeared in Omsk. The organization furthers
religious and moral education, sports, culture, and charity.
Omsk is the second Soviet town where a department of the Christian
Union has been organized; the first was in Moscow. The activities
of the organization have the blessing of Russian Orthodox Patriarch
Aleksii II. (Oxana Antic)

PATRIARCH ALEKSII IN SYRIA. TASS reported on October 5 that during
the visit of Patriarch Aleksii II to Syria, the head of the Russian
Orthodox Church met with Syrian president Hafiz Assad. He had
previously met with the head of Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
The Patriarch described his trip to the Middle East as cementing
Orthodox unity in the region and initiating brotherly contacts
with other Christian confessions and also with Muslim leaders.
(Oxana Antic)

PROBLEM CONCERNING HASSIDIC MANU-SCRIPTS STILL UNSOLVED. The
Director of the Lenin Library in Moscow, Anatolii Volik, told
TASS that the fate of the 12,000 Hassidic books and 400 manuscripts
kept in the library has not yet been solved, TASS reported October
6. The Hassidic community has asked that these unique documents
be returned to them so they can be sent to the New York based
religious center "Agudas Hassidei Habad." (Hassidim in Moscow
picketed the library in September, demanding the return of the
books: see Daily Report, September 9). (Oxana Antic)


USSR--OTHER REPUBLICS


CALL FOR PRESIDENTIAL RULE IN GEORGIA. Political groups that
support Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia called October
7 for the dissolution of parliament and the imposition of presidential
rule; they also advocated the banning of opposition parties and
organizations and the arrest of their leaders, and revoking the
citizenship of government opponents, Western news agencies reported
October 7. Students began a sit-in October7 at Tbilisi University
to demand freedom of the press and the withdrawal of Gamsakhurdia's
troops from Tbilisi, RIA reported October 7. (Liz Fuller)

KRAVCHUK ON FOREIGN VISITS, INDEPENDENCE AND NEW "UNIONS." Fresh
from his visit to the US, Canada, and France, Ukrainian Supreme
Soviet Chairman Leonid Kravchuk wasted no time in once again
asserting Ukraine's new sovereignty and independence. Speaking
at a press conference in Kiev on October 4, an upbeat Kravchuk
expressed confidence that international recognition of Ukraine's
independence would follow after the referendum on this issue
on December 1. Kravchuk also reiterated his opposition to any
new political "Union" with Moscow and former Soviet republics.
Ukraine, he emphasized, will only consider entering into agreements
"in which it does not lose a drop of its statehood." (Bohdan
Nahaylo)

UKRAINE DEMANDS PARTICIPATION IN NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT PROCESS.
Kravchuk also told the press conference that Ukraine favors "destroying
all nuclear weapons" under international supervision but until
then would not relinquish control of its nuclear arms. Expressing
concern for Ukraine's "safety and security," he rejected Yeltsin's
proposal that the RSFSR take over the entire Soviet nuclear arsenal.
Kravchuk declared that "it is important to preserve the status
quo on the siting of nuclear weapons so that no single republic
can take over the entire nuclear potential of the Union." "There
must be unified control over nuclear weapons," he added, "and
Ukraine should take part in it." Kravchuk also stressed that
"As a state where nuclear weapons are stationed, Ukraine will
demand participation in all future [nuclear disarmament] agreements."
(Bohdan Nahaylo)

UKRAINE PLANS TO CREATE ARMY OF 450,000. Radio Kiev reports that
on October 7 the Presidium of Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers
approved a package of draft laws concerning the creation during
the next two years of a Ukrainian National Guard and army. The
draft laws forsee Ukraine's transformation, in accordance with
the principles enshrined in the republic's Declaration of State
Sovereignty, into a neutral state and a nuclear-free zone. It
is envisaged that the size of the new Ukrainian army will not
exceed 450,000 and that its role will be purely defensive. (Bohdan
Nahaylo)

UKRAINE HEADING FOR YES VOTE IN INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM? With
a crucial referendum on independence and presidential elections
scheduled in Ukraine for December 1, the republic's sociologists
are busy conducting opinion polls. According to Radio Kiev October
7, the latest survey conducted by the Institute of Sociology
of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences has 63% of the respondents
supporting Ukraine's declaration of independence and 17.3% opposing
it. A group of sociologists within the Institute that conducts
surveys on behalf of the Ukrainian Supreme Soviet, however, gives
figures of 74% in favor of independence and only 12% against.
They also found that 41% of those questioned would vote for Kravchuk
in the presidential elections and that just under 9% supported
Vyacheslav Chornovil, who is emerging as Kravchuk's main rival.
(Bohdan Nahaylo)

MOLDAVIA DEFERS DECISION ON ECONOMIC PACT. The Moldavian parliament
completed its regular session and adjourned October 4 without
making a decision regarding Moldavia's membership in the "economic
community of sovereign states" (the designation proposed by President
Mircea Snegur and accepted at the Alma-Ata meeting in place of
"economic union"). Although Snegur urged the parliament to empower
the executive to sign the accord, many deputies requested additional
information on the economic and political implications of the
pact, and objected to what they felt was the perpetuation of
an administrative center, Moldovapres reported October 4. Snegur
reaffirmed that Moldavia would not consider any political agreements
with the Union and that it would seek affiliations with "other
economic communities" too. (Vladimir Socor)



BALTIC STATES



MIRONOV: SOVIET TROOP WITHDRAWAL MUST BE NEGOTIATED. Lieutenant
General Valerii Mironov told TASS on October 7 that Baltic demands
for Soviet troops to leave the three Baltic capitals by December
1 are unrealistic and must be negotiated. He said "the question
of the period for withdrawing part of the Soviet army from the
territory of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania must be decided at
an inter-governmental level." (Dzintra Bungs)

AGREEMENT REACHED ON LITHUANIAN AND POLISH MINORITIES. Meeting
in Warsaw on October 4, Polish and Lithuanian foreign ministry
officials agreed on a common declaration on the rights of minorities
in the two countries, Western agencies reported that day. The
declaration, to be signed later this month, guarantees that minorities
will not be discriminated against in political life and will
be able to satisfy their linguistic, cultural, and religious
needs. (Dzintra Bungs)

BALTIC STATES TO SIGN CSCE FINAL ACT. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania
are expected to sign the Final Act of the Conference on Security
and Cooperation in Europe on October 15, TASS reported on October
3. The signing ceremony is to take place at the Finlandia Hall
where the CSCE Final Act was signed by the leaders of European
countries, United States, and Canada on August 1, 1975. The Baltic
States were officially included in the list of participants in
the CSCE process at the recent Moscow human rights conference.
(Dzintra Bungs)

LITHUANIA JOINS UNESCO. While visiting London, Lithuanian President
Vytautas Landsbergis signed the UNESCO Constitution on October
7, Western agencies reported that day. This gesture signified
that Lithuania was joining the UNESCO and becoming the organization's
160th member. Estonia and Latvia are expected to join soon. (Dzintra
Bungs)

LATVIA, CHILE ESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS. RFE/RL's correspondent
in New York reported on October 4 about the establishment of
diplomatic relations between Latvia and Chile. A joint communique
was issued at the United Nations that day in which the two states
expressed confidence that this decision would lead to economic
and cultural cooperation. (Dzintra Bungs)

LITHUANIA, JAPAN REESTABLISH DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS. Lithuania
and Japan formally reestablished diplomatic relations on October
7, Radio Riga and TASS reported that day. Notes to that effect
were exchanged between Lithuanian Foreign Minister Algirdas Saudargas
and Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Muneo Suzuki. Suzuki is
on a five-day tour of the Baltic States and will also reestablish
diplomatic relations with Latvia and Estonia. (Dzintra Bungs)