No. 231, 02 December 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

YELTSIN ASKS CONGRESS FOR STRENGTHENED EXECUTIVE. Russian President
Boris Yeltsin has asked the Congress of People's Deputies to
agree to a stabilization period of about one-and-a-half years
during which the powers of the presidency would be strengthened
at the expense of those of the legislature, ITAR-TASS reported
on 1-December. Yeltsin's six point proposal included a provision
to curtail the powers of the Congress so that its only role in
government would be to amend the Constitution. He suggested that
only parliament should be empowered to adopt laws, and that all
executive powers should be exercised by the president and his
cabinet. Yeltsin urged the Congress to allow him to retain the
power to appoint ministers without parliamentary approval. Yeltsin
said that if Congress agreed to his six-point program, he would
be prepared to give up his special powers. Yeltsin indicated
that the stabilization period would end when a new Constitution
was adopted. (Alexander Rahr)

KHASBULATOV SAYS REFORM PROCESS HAS COLLAPSED. Parliamentary
speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov told the Congress that the reform
process has ended in a "collapse," and that a further decrease
in production should not be allowed, ITAR-TASS reported on 1
December. He said that no market mechanism had been created and
that the people have lost their motivation to produce. He stated
that the population cannot endure the hardship created by reform,
and called for a round-table to seek a way out of the crisis.
Khasbulatov told the Congress that the composition of the cabinet
and the appointment of the prime minister should correspond to
the type of market economy favored by the deputies. Yeltsin indicated
in his speech that he may move away from the radical free- market
policies espoused by Acting Prime Minister Egor Gaidar, and instead
favor the more gradual reform ideas supported by the Civic Union.
(Alexander Rahr)

DEPUTIES COMMENT ON YELTSIN'S, KHASBULATOV'S SPEECHES. Vyacheslav
Bragin, chairman of the parliamentary committee on the mass media,
praised President Yeltsin's speech at the Congress, saying he
thought there was still a chance for a compromise on reform between
the Congress and the president. Members of the "Radical Democrats"
parliamentary faction and representatives of Russia's provinces
supported Yeltsin's plea for a strong executive power. In contrast,
a member of the centrist "Smena" faction thought that Yeltsin's
speech undermined chances for a compromise. Sergei Baburin, of
the hard-line "Russian Unity" faction, said that Yeltsin was
striving to accumulate dictatorial powers. Khasbulatov's speech
also provoked a mixed reaction. The chairman of the Democratic
Center bloc, Vladimir Novikov, said that the speaker's address
was the first instance of a high level official telling the whole
truth about Russia's situation. Vyacheslav Volkov, of the Democratic
Russia, in contrast, accused Khasbulatov of being too populist
and of playing on the feelings of the more emotional deputies.
These comments were broadcasted on Russian TV on 1 December.
(Vera Tolz)

DEVELOPMENTS AT THE CONGRESS. As what appeared to be an initial
victory for President Yeltsin, the Congress rejected early calls
from hardliners for an immediate review of Yeltsin's performance
by the Constitutional Court and a vote of confidence in his government,
ITAR-TASS reported on 1 December. At the same time, legislators
voted in favor of debating a constitutional amendment concerning
the new law on the government which would fully subordinate the
executive to the parliament. Yeltsin had earlier vetoed the bill,
and Acting Prime Minister Egor Gaidar had threatened to resign
if the bill became law. The head of the Constitutional Court,
Valerii Zorkin, told the Congress that Russia was in a deep constitutional
crisis and he appealed to the president and the Congress to cease
their confrontation. (Alexander Rahr)

BURBULIS SAYS CONGRESS MAJORITY LEANS AGAINST YELTSIN. In an
interview with Interfax of 1 December, the head of a group of
presidential advisers, Gennadii Burbulis, said a majority of
deputies of the Russian Congress who were present on the opening
day appeared to be critical of the government and wanted major
personnel and policy changes. He estimated that some 450 deputies
were critical of the government, whereas around 400 remained
loyal supporters. Burbulis said, however, that it seemed unlikely
to him that the Congress would approve any major constitutional
changes involving the functioning of Russia's council of ministers.
(Vera Tolz)

YELTSIN ON CIS. In his speech to the Russian Congress of People's
Deputies on 1-December, Yeltsin said that in the foreseeable
future developments in Russia would depend to a significant extent
on the situation in the "near abroad," where Russia's fundamental
political, defense, economic, and humanitarian interests lay.
Yeltsin went on to say that the CIS had not managed so far to
take over worthily the enormous heritage of the former Soviet
Union, and that many questions of legal succession and the civilized
division of joint property, joint economic infrastructures, army
property, and the army itself had been less than half solved.
(Ann Sheehy)

YELTSIN ON EXPANDING RIGHTS OF SUBJECTS OF FEDERATION. Yeltsin
said that the subjects of the federation must be given the right
to decide their internal problems themselves, that they should
be given a substantial part of the powers of the former central
organs, and that their economic independence should be expanded.
To counteract separatist tendencies he said that the executive
would stimulate the formation of Russian transregional corporations,
both private and state, that would include enterprises belonging
to different republics, krais, and oblasts. This would do more
for the unity of Russia than any state power structure. (Ann
Sheehy)

YELTSIN ORDER ON PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF RUSSIAN CITIZENS ABROAD.
Yeltsin has issued an order "On Questions of the Defense of the
Rights and Interests of Russian (rossiiskie) Citizens Outside
the Bounds of the Russian Federation," ITAR-TASS and Interfax
reported on 1 December. The order instructs the Russian Ministries
of Justice and Foreign Affairs to step up work on concluding
legal aid treaties with CIS member-states, Georgia, Latvia, and
Estonia, and the conclusion of consular conventions with the
states of the former USSR. Russia and Lithuania recently signed
a legal aid treaty. The Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense
are tasked with accelerating work on concluding agreements with
the states of the former USSR on the status of Russian troops
on their territory. (Ann Sheehy)

CIS SUMMIT RESCHEDULED FOR 25 DECEMBER. Ivan Korotchenya, the
head of the working group that organizes CIS summits, said on
1 December that the next summit of CIS heads of state would now
take place on 25 December, Interfax reported. Korotchenya said
that all the CIS heads of state had confirmed that they would
attend. The summit, originally been scheduled for 4 December,
had been postponed to 18-December because of the Russian Congress
of Deputies. It had to be further rescheduled because Yeltsin
will be in China on 18 December. (Ann Sheehy)

STATE OF EMERGENCY IN NORTH OSSETIA AND INGUSHETIA EXTENDED.
On 1-December at Yeltsin's request the Russian Supreme Soviet
extended the state of emergency in North Ossetia and Ingushetia
until 30 January 1993, ITAR-TASS reported. The head of the Interim
Administration in North Ossetia and Ingushetia, Sergei Shakhrai,
described the situation in the conflict area as reminiscent of
that in late October when armed clashes took place in Prigorodnyi
raion, Interfax reported. Speaking in Vladikavkaz he said that
in the village of Chermen terrorists acts were committed almost
daily, with both Ossetians and Ingush being victims. (Ann Sheehy)


RUSSIAN OFFICERS IN THE BALTICS VS GRACHEV. The Coordinating
Council of the Officers' Assemblies of the Baltic region sent
an open letter to the Congress of Peoples' Deputies demanding
the resignation of Russian Defense Minister General Pavel Grachev.
As reported by Interfax on 1 December, the group also called
for the restoration of democratic institutions in the military
and an investigation into high-level corruption. The Council
was particularly critical of what it termed the defense ministry's
attempt to withdraw forces from the Baltic states without providing
suitable basing sites in Russia. It charged that the armed forces
could no longer defend the country from external aggression as
a result of the recent reforms. The latter accused Grachev and
his deputies of trading in military property, thereby "causing
tremendous damage to the forces and the state in general." In
October the Council had applauded President Yeltsin's decision
to halt the withdrawal of the Northwestern Group of Forces from
the Baltic states. (Doug Clarke)

FOREIGN POLICY CONCEPT FINALIZED. The Russian Foreign Ministry's
concept, a set of principles for guiding foreign policy, has
been finalized, Interfax reported on 1-December. In the works
since February, the final document does not differ dramatically
from the draft version published on 31 October; it is significantly
longer, however. The completion of the report and addition of
detail is a concession on the part of Foreign Minister Kozyrev.
He had previously resisted pressure from opponents to lay down
a detailed set of principles for foreign policy on the grounds
that such guidelines could not be used effectively in day-to-day
practice. In Kozyrev's view, the demands for such a set of guidelines
reflected the inability of some to manage without documents like
a communist party program or Das Kapital. (Suzanne Crow)

CREDIT GUARANTEES FOR FOOD IMPORTS SUSPENDED AGAIN. Russia has
been suspended again from the US Agriculture Department's export
credit program because of failure to make repayments to lending
banks, according to western press agencies on 1-December. Last
week Russia was suspended briefly for the same reason, but was
reinstated the following day after the overdue payments were
made. The Agriculture Department is assuming that this is another
temporary interruption. The program gives Russia access to government-backed
loans to make food imports from the United States. According
to an official from the Russian Finance Ministry, a "cash shortage"
is the reason for the default on payments. He also hinted that
the Russians are having trouble juggling available funds between
the claims of their various creditors. (Sheila Marnie)

RUSSIAN OIL PRIVATIZATION DECREE. President Yeltsin has signed
a decree that spells out limited privatization plans for the
oil industry, The Financial Times reported on 1 December. Foreigners
are given the right to acquire up to 15% of the value of oil
companies. The Russian government retains a controlling stake,
and workers are entitled primarily to non-voting shares. On 30
November, Russian Economics Minister Andrei Nechaev told a news
conference that export tariffs for oil would shortly be lowered
from $37 to $27 a ton, Reuters reported. (Keith Bush)

KAL-007 BLACK BOXES PARTLY EMPTY. During his visit to South Korea
in November, President Yeltsin turned over the cockpit voice
recorder and flight data recorder "black boxes" from the Korean
KAL-007 airliner shot down in 1983. However, Western news agencies
reported on 30 November and 1 December that the tapes from the
flight data recorder are missing, while the tapes in the voice
recorder are copies. Korean parliamentarians have called for
a halt to loans to Russia worth up to $1.5 billion until the
matter is resolved, although the government has rejected such
a move. In response to a formal inquiry by South Korea, the Russian
Foreign Ministry has claimed that it never intended to hand over
all the tapes to South Korea, but that it will give them to an
investigating committee from the US, Japan, South Korea, Russia,
and the International Civil Aviation Organization at a meeting
in Moscow on 8 December. (John Lepingwell and Doug Clarke)

RUSSIAN ARMED FORCES TAKING CONTRACT SERVICEMEN. Lt. General
Gennadii Bochaev, in the organizational and mobilization directorate
of the Russian ministry of defense, told ITAR-TASS on 1 December
that the Russian armed forces had begun to accept servicemen
on a contract basis that day. He indicated that junior commanders,
computer specialists, divers, paratroopers, and drivers would
be the first to be offered two and three year contracts. (Doug
Clarke)

KAZAKHS TO PRESENT TERMS FOR OIL AND GAS BIDDING. Interfax reported
on 28 November that a delegation from Kazakhstan, headed by Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Kadyr Baikenov was traveling
to Houston to present terms for bidding on oil and gas exploration
rights in three fields in Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan's political
stability has made it attractive to foreign petroleum and gas
firms. (Bess Brown)

"DNIESTER REPUBLIC" EMPLOYING EX-USSR KGB, OMON OFFICERS. At
a televised news conference in Tiraspol on 29 November, reported
in the local press and summarized by Basapress, the "Dniester
republic Security Minister," a Colonel hitherto known as Vadim
Shevtsov, confirmed that he is in fact Vladimir Antyufeev, a
former high official of Soviet Latvia's KGB and overseer of the
OMON (Special Purpose Militia Detachments) in Riga. He said that
he and other officers of the ex-USSR KGB and OMON (an MVD unit)
and also members of Estonia's Interfront paramilitary group,
had been assigned by "Russian democratic forces" to strengthen
the "Dniester republic"'s security forces. The officers rejected
charges of corruption levelled against them by a local anti-
"mafia" crusader, Colonel Mikhail Bergman, whom they accused
of being a spy for Israel. (Vladimir Socor)

LEBED WEIGHS IN. While proudly admitting their own KGB links,
the officers rejected Bergman's charge that the "State Secretary"
of the "Dniester republic," Valerii Litskay (who functions as
"Foreign Minister"), is also a former KGB staffer involved in
corruption. The commander of Russia's 14th Army in Moldova, Lt.
General Aleksandr Lebed, however, appeared at news conference
in Tiraspol the next day and produced Litskay's KGB personnel
file. Lebed's news conference was covered by the "Dniester" media
and reported by Basapress on 30 November. (Vladimir Socor)

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

PANIC ENTERS SERBIA'S PRESIDENTIAL RACE. Radio Serbia reported
on 1-December that Milan Panic, prime minister of rump Yugoslavia,
officially announced his candidacy for Serbian president in the
elections to be held on 20 December. He told journalists that
it is time for a change, since incumbent Slobodan Milosevic has
led the country into "economic chaos" and isolated Serbia on
the international stage "while war rages uncontrollably" in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Panic, a naturalized US citizen, said he wants to offer "something
different, a hope for the future, and a program of reconciliation
and economic recovery." Panic reiterated his charge that Milosevic
has undercut his efforts as prime minister, a post he has held
since 14 July. Twelve candidates have been nominated to enter
the presidential race to challenge Milosevic's bid for reelection.
The latest polls show Panic leading Milosevic by as much as 25%.
(Milan Andrejevich)

REACTIONS TO PANIC'S ENTRY. The Serbian electoral committee is
challenging Panic's entry by raising questions whether he meets
residency requirements. The commission has asked him to submit
a new Belgrade residence registration form. A final ruling on
the validity of candidacies will be made on 5 December. Under
a Serbian law passed last month, only people resident in Serbia
for more than a year may run in the elections. Panic's press
office is insisting that all the legalities were reviewed before
Panic announced his candidacy, while Panic assured reporters,
"I was born a Serb." The Democratic Opposition Movement (DEPOS)
welcomes Panic's entry. Vuk Draskovic, chairman of the main opposition
Serbian Renewal Movement and DEPOS member, said if Panic is allowed
to run, Draskovic will step aside and promise his party's support.
Draskovic, who was beaten on the first round by Milosevic in
the Serbian presidential elections in December 1990, said a rejection
by the committee of Panic's candidacy would be a serious political
scandal. (Milan Andrejevich)

WAR OF WORDS BETWEEN BELGRADE AND TIRANA. On 30 November the
Foreign Ministry of the rump Yugoslavia lodged a protest with
the Albanian embassy over its position on the war in the former
Yugoslavia and of supporting secessionist activities in Serbia's
predominantly Albanian province of Kosovo. Belgrade's protest
responded to a statement to Western media by Albanian President
Sali Berisha on 27 November that he advocates air strikes against
military facilities and airports in Serbia-Montenegro as the
only method to end the war and to keep it from spreading throughout
the Balkans. The protest letter said such statements contradict
the obligations that Albania assumed when it joined the CSCE,
as well as the UN Charter and principles on which relations between
states are based. Radios Serbia and Croatia carried the reports.
(Milan Andrejevich)

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS IN BOSNIAN CRISIS. International media
reported on 1 December that the UN Human Rights Commission has
condemned Bosnian Serbs as being primarily responsible for the
atrocities in the current conflict, including "ethnic cleansing
and systematic rape." The report endorsed recommendations by
special envoy Tadeusz Mazowiecki calling for new relief corridors
and for setting up safe havens, but did not repeat his call for
a stepped-up UN role in the conflict as a whole. That same day
Islamic foreign ministers opened a session in Jidda, Saudi Arabia,
to discuss the crisis. Bosnian and Saudi leaders called on the
UN to lift its arms embargo on Bosnia to counterbalance the Serbs'
preponderance in weapons. Public opinion in the Middle East and
elsewhere in the Islamic world is pressuring governments to take
a more forceful position on behalf of the Bosnians. Reuters reports
from Brussels that NATO ships may be stationed off Albania, ostensibly
to help tighten the blockade on Montenegro. Albania has been
eager for a NATO presence to help deter Serbia from expanding
the war into Kosovo and on to Albania. (Patrick Moore)

HUNGARY, SLOVENIA SIGN TREATY. On 1 December in Budapest Hungarian
Prime Minister Jozsef Antall and his Slovenian counterpart, Janez
Drnovsek, signed a basic treaty providing a framework for developing
bilateral relations, MTI reports. The two leaders also signed
a declaration of intent to introduce a free-trade zone between
the two countries. At a joint press conference, the two prime
ministers called Hungarian-Slovenian relations "exemplary." Drnovsek
also met with President Arpad Goncz and National Assembly Chairman
Gyorgy Szabad. (Edith Oltay)

PRIME MINISTER GETS HUNGARIAN RADIO & TV BUDGET. Parliament voted
on 1-December for an amendment to the 1993 budget that would
place the budget of Hungarian Radio and TV under the prime minister's
office budget, MTI reports. It was formerly an independent budget
item. Opposition parties protested the move as an attempt to
place public radio and TV under government control and announced
that they will ask the Constitutional Court to rule on the constitutionality
of the amendment. Alliance of Free Democrats parliamentary deputy
Miklos Haraszti said that the amendment escalated the "media
war" into a "total war." Finance Minister Mihaly Kupa commented
that since radio and TV operate on public funds it is the duty
of the government to supervise their finances. (Edith Oltay)


ROMANIAN NATIONAL DAY MARKED. On 1 December Romanians marked
the 72nd anniversary of the date on which Transylvania joined
the former Kingdom of Romania at the end of World War I. Radio
Bucharest reports that President Ion Iliescu received leading
politicians, cultural figures, and diplomats at Cotroceni Palace,
his official residence. Iliescu hailed the creation of the Romanian
"national unitary state" in 1918, and drew a parallel between
changes in Europe after World War I and the fall of communism
in the late 1980's. He also expressed concern over growing instability
in Eastern Europe. The first of December was proclaimed Romania's
National Day in July 1990, to replace the traditional communist
commemoration on 23 August. (Dan Ionescu)

BSP CANDIDATE DECLINES OFFER TO FORM CABINET. On 1 December Zahari
Karamfilov told BSP group leader Nora Ananieva he will not try
to form a Bulgarian government. According to BTA, Karamfilov
pointed to the uncompromising resistance of the UDF, the largest
caucus in the National Assembly. Although both the BSP and the
MRF favored his candidacy, the former economics professor said
UDF support is a precondition for his "government of national
accord" formula. Meanwhile, some UDF leaders have already begun
to call for new elections, and 59 of the coalition's 110-deputies
reportedly signed a declaration calling for further efforts to
resolve the current government crisis. (Kjell Engelbrekt)

SOLIDARITY ACCEPTS "PACT ON STATE FIRMS," DECLARES STRIKE. In
a decision reaffirming the union's two-pronged strategy of tough
talk and conciliatory bargaining, Solidarity's national leadership
voted on 1 December to accept the government's proposed "pact
on state firms," on several conditions. The union said it will
sign the pact if the government uses special legislative procedures
to ensure that the parliament does not tinker with terms already
agreed upon and that legislation governing mass privatization
secures union approval. During the same session, the Solidarity
leadership declared a two-hour national warning strike for 14
December to demand that the government revise the 1993 budget
to prevent real wages from declining. (Louisa Vinton)

POLISH GOVERNMENT APPROVES STEEL RESTRUCTURING PLAN. The government
accepted a ten-year plan to restructure the steel industry on
1 December, PAP reports. Drawn up by a Canadian consortium, the
plan would cut steel production by almost half, from 19 million
tons per year to about 10 million, and reduce employment by two-
thirds, from 123,000 to 43,500 people. Two huge plants--the Katowice
and Sendzimir (formerly Lenin) Mills--are to be merged. The restructuring
program will cost $4.5 billion, only part of which can be covered
from the state budget. Industry Minister Waclaw Niewiarowski
explained that the costs of maintaining unprofitable mills would
in a short time outstrip any restructuring costs. He noted that
Solidarity has endorsed the program. (Louisa Vinton)

POLAND PREPARES TO ADAPT TO EC RIGORS. At the same meeting, the
government approved a 120-page program listing the steps needed
to adapt the Polish economy to EC conditions. Most important
among these are privatization, agricultural reform, and the replacement
of the outmoded economic priorities of textiles, steel, and mining
with new technologies. The government's report notes that Poland's
per capita GNP is only half that of the poorest EC states (Portugal
and Greece) and one-quarter that of the richest. PAP reported
that the government's plenipotentiary for European integration,
Jacek Saryusz-Wolski, argued that the criterion for Poland's
full membership in the EC should be "a healthy--rather than wealthy--economy."
(Louisa Vinton)

CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER ON JOINING EC. Speaking at a press conference
in London on 1 December at the close of a two-day visit to Great
Britain, Czech Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec said the Czech
Republic wants to start discussions by 1996 on a timetable for
joining the European Community. He gave the end of century as
a target date for the republic to become an EC member. An RFE/RL
correspondent in London reports Zieleniec as saying British Foreign
Secretary Douglas Hurd indicated full support for Czech membership
but "the problem remained of finding an explicit formulation
of general terms for our membership." Zieleniec said he is convinced
the formulation can be found. In the meantime, he said, "it is
up to us to prepare our economy and society for membership."
(Jiri Pehe)

EBRD TO HELP BUILD ROADS IN BULGARIA. On 1 December the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development approved a $43-million
loan to improve Bulgaria's road system. The loan is intended
to upgrade a 32-km section between Plovdiv and Orizovo as well
as some 800 km of primary roads serving regional and long-distance
traffic. An RFE/RL correspondent in London quoted EBRD Vice President
Mario Sarcinelli that the improvements will facilitate traffic
in southeastern Europe and help integrate Bulgaria into international
markets. (Kjell Engelbrekt)

LUBYS NOMINATED AS LITHUANIAN PRIME MINISTER. At the 1 December
Seimas session Acting President Algirdas Brazauskas nominated
Bronislavas Lubys, deputy prime minister in the former cabinet,
as prime minister, Radio Lithuania reports. Lubys, born in 1938,
was general manager of Azotas, one of Lithuania's largest industrial
enterprises. He led energy talks with Moscow, and was a member
of the Liberal faction in the Supreme Council although not a
member of any political party. Presenting his program to the
Seimas, Lubys noted that his main tasks will be obtaining fuel,
regulating financial and banking problems, and revising the tax
system. The Seimas will discuss his candidacy on 2 December and
are expected to approve his nomination that afternoon. (Saulius
Girnius)

ESTONIAN-RUSSIAN TALKS. On 1 December Prime Minister Mart Laar
appointed Minister without Portfolio Juri Luik to head the Estonian
delegation for talks with Moscow, Radio Tallinn reports. Foreign
Minister Trivimi Velliste has arrived in Moscow for a two- day
visit during which, on 2 December, he will hold talks with Andrei
Kozyrev on bilateral relations. The two foreign ministers are
expected to sign a consular agreement. (Saulius Girnius)

MORE ON TROOP WITHDRAWAL FROM LATVIA. Ilgonis Upmalis, head of
the office overseeing the withdrawal of Russian troops from Latvia,
told BNS on 1 December that the Latvian government has resolved
to establish two commissions supervising the transfer of Russian
army facilities in Latvia. He said the process can be speeded
up if similar commissions are established by the Russian military
leadership and if the facilities to be handed over are first
cleared of explosives and other dangers. Upmalis added that no
concrete timetables for the transfer of Zvarde and Adazi have
been worked out because the local commanders do not have the
authority to relinquish the facilities. (Dzintra Bungs)

RUSSIANS RALLY IN LATVIA, ESTONIA. On 1 December several organizations
representing Soviet war veterans, Russian citizens, and civilian
employees of the Northwestern Group of Forces picketed in front
of the Latvian Supreme Council in Riga. Expressing support for
the USSR, they demanded the release of former Latvian communist
chief Alfreds Rubiks and equal rights for both citizens and noncitizens
of Latvia, Radio Riga reports. In Estonia six organizations representing
mostly Russians and other Eastern Slavs drafted a charter for
a Community of Russian-Speaking Residents of Estonia, a voluntary,
social organization that says it would like to participate in
affairs of the state and society in Estonia and maintain contacts
with the government of Russia and other states, BALTFAX reports.
(Dzintra Bungs)

MEMORIAL TO JEWS ERECTED IN RIGA. Diena reports that on 29 November
a monument was unveiled in Riga to commemorate the thousands
of Jews killed in Latvia during World War II. The monument marks
the site of the synagogue burned down by the Nazis in July, 1941.
(Dzintra Bungs)

[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Hal Kosiba & Charles Trumbull