No. 234, 07 December 1992

SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

RUSSIAN TROOPS IN DUSHANBE STOP PRO-COMMUNIST ATTACK. The Russian
201st Motorized Division stationed in Tajikistan has driven off
an attack on Dushanbe by an armed group from Gissar, Interfax
reported on 6 December. Gissar is a main staging area for pro-Communist
forces in the Dushanbe area. Dushanbe mayor Makhmud Ikramov thanked
the Russian forces for the.ir help in protecting the city. Earlier
in the year, leaders of some of the anti-Communist political
groups in Tajikistan accused the Russian troops of giving covert
support to fighters loyal to deposed President Rakhmon Nabiev;
Democratic Party chairman Shodmon Yusupov still sees the Russian
troops as a disruptive element, but democratic sympathizer Ikramov
disagrees. (Bess Brown)

YELTSIN'S POWER SURVIVES CONGRESS VOTE. On 5 December, the Congress
of People's Deputies voted by secret ballot on nine constitutional
amendments, some of which would have curtailed the president's
power to appoint Russia's ministers without parliamentary approval,
Russian TV reported. These presidential powers unexpectedly survived
the vote. Altogether, 694 votes are necessary at the Congress
to amend the Constitution. Those seeking to require the president
to submit his nominee for the position of prime minister to the
Congress for its approval lost by a slender four vote margin.
693-delegates voted for a proposed amendment that would have
required President Yeltsin to obtain parliament's approval of
key government ministers.(Julia Wishnevsly)

REACTIONS TO VOTE. Vasilii Lipitsky, leader of one of the Civic
Union's factions, told The Boston Globe on 6 December that nearly
all the Civic Union's supporters voted in favor of the constitutional
amendments that would have severely limited the president's power.
Another Civic Union representative stated that at the next Congress
in April, deputies will demand the resignation not of Egor Gaidar
but of President Yeltsin. Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Shakhrai
told ITAR-TASS on 6 December that Yeltsin had done "a bad job
of preparing his tactics . . . at the Congress." He added that
the chance for a change in the reform policy is "great." Liberal
deputy Gleb Yakunin told Western news agencies on 5 December
that he was absolutely convinced that if the amendments had passed,
direct presidential rule would have been introduced the next
day. (Alexander Rahr)

LEADERS IN COUNTRYSIDE WILL REMAIN UNELECTED. According to Russian
TV, during the same vote, the Congress agreed to postpone the
elections of the heads of local governments until the end of
their term in Spring 1995. Only Moscow, St.-Petersburg, and Severo-Dvinsk
are governed by elected mayors; all other local executives in
Russia were appointed by and are responsible to President Yeltsin.
Moreover, until the 5 December vote at the Congress, these executives
were subordinated to Yeltsin's local representatives who were
appointed by the same section of Yeltsin's government that appointed
the local government leaders. The Congress abolished the institute
of presidential representatives but approved the practice of
unelected executives directing local government. In fact, the
largely conservative Congress sided with the president against
the radical Democratic Russia movement, which usually strongly
supported Yeltsin in the past. DR-press reported on 1 December
that the most recent Democratic Russia plenary session demanded
that direct elections for executive positions in the administrations
be held in 1993. (Julia Wishnevsky)

YELTSIN WILL NOMINATE GAIDAR AS PRIME MINISTER. Russian President
Boris Yeltsin stated that he will nominate Egor Gaidar to the
post of prime minister, ITAR-TASS reported on 5 December. Approximately
half of the factions in the Civic Union are said to have agreed
to support Gaidar's candidacy. But Yeltsin's spokesman Vyacheslav
Kostikov questioned the need for constant behind-the-scenes negotiations
with the Civic Union when he told journalists that the Civic
Union has turned out to be less influential than he originally
believed, Interfax reported on 4 December. He said that the influence
of the Civic Union in the Congress was "mythical." He added that
the Civic Union has no ability to influence deputies, and that
conservative deputies were even more hostile to reform than the
Civic Union had anticipated. (Alexander Rahr)

"NO" TO THE EAGLE, "YES" TO PRIVATE LAND OWNERSHIP. Only 479
out of the 694-necessary votes were cast by the Congress for
an amendment that would reinstate the Tsarist double-headed eagle
as Russia's national emblem. Therefore, the communist hammer
and sickle remains the national symbol. More importantly, the
overwhelming majority of the deputies voted to amend the Constitution
to permit private land ownership, "Novosti" reported on 5 December.
The Yeltsin administration has been trying to introduce such
an amendment since the second session of the Congress in Fall
1990, but so far the only result has been a compromise that allows
only severely limited private land ownership. On the eve of the
current session, Democratic Russia had obtained the one million
signatures necessary to hold a national referendum calling for
an "unconditional" right of private land ownership. (Julia Wishnevsky)


THIRD RUSSIAN DEFAULT ON AGRICULTURAL LOANS. On 4 December, Russia
defaulted on an additional $12.9 million in loans guaranteed
by the US government for buying American farm products, an RFE/RL
Washington correspondent reported. This brought the total Russian
arrears to $20.6-million. Russia has been suspended from the
credit program twice in recent weeks for missing payments. (Keith
Bush)

HUNDREDS OF STATE ENTERPRISES FACE BANKRUPTCIES? Up to 30,000
(70%) of Russia's state enterprises, employing 30 million people
are on the verge of bankruptcy, according to a western press
agency report on 4 December, which quotes a Trud article of the
same day. Leonid Paidiev, an official from the Economics Ministry,
is quoted as saying that several hundred enterprises may fold
up next year. The actual number will depend on the extent to
which the government continues to bail out loss-making enterprises.
Paidiev recommended that the government make selective subsidies
to the more efficient enterprises producing key goods, for which
there is clearly a social need or consumer demand; he stated
that if the government tries to support all failing enterprises,
the economy will simply collapse. (Sheila Marnie)

WESTERN CREDITOR BANKS RESCHEDULE. For the fourth time in 1992,
Western creditor banks have granted the former Soviet republics
a three-month delay in repaying outstanding debts, Western agencies
reported on 4 December. The Frankfurt committee, chaired by the
Deutsche Bank and representing some 600 banks, agreed that payments
on principal falling due during the first quarter of 1993 and
all payments delayed so far would be postponed. Meanwhile, Western
creditor nations are believed to be moving towards a rescheduling
of the debt of the former Soviet Union over ten years, with a
five-year grace period. (Keith Bush)

RUSSIAN DEFICIT DECLINES. The Russian federal budget deficit
fell from 820 billion rubles to 534-billion rubles over September
and October, according to Ministry of Finance figures cited by
Kommersant (#44) on 6 December. The drop was the first of its
kind since the short-lived austerity measures introduced in the
first quarter of this year. The primary source of the improvement
was a significant increase in tax payments from enterprises due
to increased energy prices and the alleviation of inter-enterprise
debt situation. The Kommersant article went on to cite additional
positive signs in the monetary situation of the economy, including
a reduced credit issue by the central bank since a peak at the
end of the summer and the withdrawal of Ukraine from the ruble
zone. (Erik Whitlock).

LATEST UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES. According to the Russian State Statistical
Office (Goskomstat), there were 442,400 registered unemployed
at the beginning of November, 267,000 of whom were receiving
unemployment benefits, ITAR-TASS reported on 5 December. Unemployment
has thus increased more than seven-fold since the beginning of
the year, when there were 61,900 registered unemployed and 11,800
receiving benefits. The figures have risen steadily throughout
the year, but fall far below the April 1992 government forecast
of 6-million. (Sheila Marnie)

RUSSIAN PLEA FOR MARKET-SHARING IN ARMS TRADE. In a speech to
the International Press Club in Moscow on 4 December, Russian
Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev called on the West to "make room
for Russia" in the international arms market, AFP reported. He
said that Russia should have the opportunity to sell arms to
"those countries which pursue stable policies," and referred
to possible customers in the Persian Gulf and Asia, as well as
NATO member-countries. Weapons and defense equipment represent
the only major category of fabricates where Russia can compete
on the world market, and arms sales are thought to be the only
viable source of hard-currency earnings to finance the conversion
effort. (Keith Bush)

NEW MARKETS FOR RUSSIAN ARMS. Russian Minister of Foreign Economic
Relations Peter Aven said that Russia had "effectively reached"
an agreement with Malaysia for the sale of up to 30 MiG-29 fighters
according to an interview published by Interfax on 4 December.
The agency also said that it had learned from reliable sources
that South Korea was considering the purchase of Russian "Grad"
multiple rocket launcher systems, S-300 antiaircraft missile
systems, Su-25 ground attack planes, and Su-27 fighters. Aven
disclosed that the three KILO-class diesel submarines recently
sold to Iran fetched more than $400-million each, adding that
Russian intended to strengthen this market "regardless of the
opposition of American competitors." Aven also said that Russia
was negotiating the sale of S-300 systems and other weapons to
the United Arab Emirates. The S-300, known to NATO as the SA-10
"Grumble," is the Russian counterpart of the American Patriot
missile system used against Iranian Scud missiles in the Gulf
War. (Doug Clarke)

UKRAINIAN RUKH MOVEMENT TO BECOME POLITICAL PARTY. Ukraine's
former popular movement for restructuring, Rukh, which spearheaded
the country's drive for independence and democracy, will register
itself as a political party, Ukrainian and Western media have
reported. The decision was made at the movement's fourth congress,
which was held in Kiev on 4-6 December. Rukh effectively split
earlier this year over the question of what type of role it should
play in an independent Ukrainian state led largely by former
Communists, such as President Leonid Kravchuk. The congress elected
the leader of the more radical tendency, Vyacheslav Chornovil,
as Rukh's chairman; the original leader of Rukh, Ivan Drach,
did not attend. With a membership of about 50,000, Rukh remains
the largest democratic force in Ukraine and intends to nominate
candidates in the next national and local elections. (Bohdan
Nahaylo)

ARMENIA DENIES BUILDING NUCLEAR WEAPON. Armenia has denied accusations
by the official Azerbaijani news agency AzerINFORM that it is
developing bombs and artillery shells stuffed with radioactive
waste from a nuclear power plant for use if Azerbaijan attempts
to deport the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, ITAR-TASS
reported on 3 December. On 5 December ITAR-TASS carried an official
denial by the Israeli Embassy in Moscow of reports that Israel
is supplying military assistance to Azerbaijan or any other warring
party in the Caucasus. (Liz Fuller)

ARMENIA TO REACTIVATE NUCLEAR POWER STATION? Following the decision
by the Turkish government on 4 December to reconsider under pressure
from the opposition Motherland Party its offer of last month
to supply surplus electricity to Armenia, the Armenian government
ruled on 6 December to ask parliament to consider reactivating
the Medzamor nuclear power station that was closed in 1989, ITAR-TASS
reported. Medzamor supplied up to 36% of Armenia's energy needs;
the energy shortfall has been exacerbated by Azerbaijan's ongoing
blockade of Armenia. (Liz Fuller)

NO NEW ELECTIONS IN AZERBAIJAN. Addressing a congress of the
ruling Azerbaijan Popular Front in Baku on 5 December, Azerbaijani
Interior Minister Iskander Gamidov stated that he and his supporters
will not give in to demands by demonstrators in Baku for new
parliamentary elections, which were promised for this autumn
when the Azerbaijan Popular Front seized power in May 1992. Gamidov
predicted that Azerbaijan President El'chibey would remain in
power for at least ten years. In his speech to the congress on
4 December, El'chibey stated that an improvement in Azerbaijani-Iranian
relations would be conditional on Iran granting cultural autonomy
to its 16 million Azerbaijanis. (Liz Fuller)

MOLDOVA AT UN. DECRIES 'SCREEN OF SILENCE' OVER DNIESTER. Addressing
the UN General Assembly's Third Committee on 3 December, Moldovan
delegate Vitalie Snegur charged that Russia's 14th Army was underwriting
large-scale violations of the human rights of the indigenous
population by the unlawful "Dniester" authorities in eastern
Moldova. Describing the situation as "devastating," Snegur listed
the banning of the Latin script for the native language, the
reintroduction of Russian communist textbooks in place of Moldovan
ones, the closure of some Moldovan schools and of all colleges,
the elimination of all native-language newspapers, the jamming
of Chisinau radio and TV broadcasts, the introduction of conscription
into the Russian army, and the purges and arrests of Moldovans
who oppose the "Dniester republic." "A screen of silence has
been drawn over this tragedy," Snegur said, reiterating Moldova's
oft-made call for UN observers to be sent to the area. (Vladimir
Socor)



CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

SLOVENIAN ELECTIONS. On 6 December voters in Slovenia voted in
their first parliamentary and presidential elections since gaining
independence in June 1991. The latest projections with 75% of
the vote counted show incumbent president Milan Kucan winning
nearly 64% of the vote. In elections for 130-seats in the two-chamber
parliament, the moderate Liberal Democratic Party of Prime Minister
Janez Drnovsek lead with 27%, followed by Christian Democrats
and the Unity List (former communists and several other center-left
parties) with 14% each, and the right-wing National Party with
12%. With no party in the majority, Drnovsek will surely seek
a coalition with the Christian Democrats, Unity List and the
National Party. Radio Slovenia carried the report on 7 December.
(Milan Andrejevich)

PANIC'S POLITICAL MERRY-GO-ROUND. On 6-December, Serbia's Election
Commission again refused to place Milan Panic on the presidential
ballot for the 20 December election. The action came one day
after Serbia's Supreme Court overruled the Commission's decision
of 3 December that Panic fails to meet residency requirements.
Panic's lawyers have filed another appeal. A final Supreme Court
decision may come as early as 7 December. If the high court again
overturns the commission's ruling, Panic will be eligible to
run. Panic told reporters that he is pleased with Supreme Court
decision because it "shows that Slobodan Milosevic is in a panic."
Meanwhile, main opposition leader Vuk Draskovic said he would
withdraw from the presidential race should Panic be allowed to
run, but the commission has indicated that it will not permit
him to strike his name from the ballot. Numerous opposition parties
have said they will boycott the elections and organize mass demonstrations
if the court upholds the Commission's latest decision. Radio
Serbia and international media carried the reports. (Milan Andrejevich)


SERBS PRESS OFFENSIVE IN BOSNIA. International media reported
over the weekend of 4-6 December that Serb forces are stepping
up an offensive against Bosnian-controlled towns in northern
and western Bosnia, as well as against some western and southern
suburbs of Sarajevo. German radio said on 6 December that some
Muslim and Croat civilians were killed by Serbian gunmen when
they lined up to be evacuated from one suburb taken by the Serbs.
International media on 5 December quoted the UN deputy commander
in Sarajevo as saying that international peace efforts "have
failed completely," while the 7 December Washington Post reports
that Serbs are pressing an ethnic cleansing campaign in the Banja
Luka area. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung quotes Croatian
Cardinal Franjo Kuharic as calling the Serbian policy of systematic
gang rape "the worst crime of this war." (Patrick Moore)

ALBANIAN PARLIAMENT WARNS THAT "WAR IN KOSOVO IS IMMINENT." On
4-December ATA ran a report on the legislature's session on Balkan
problems held the previous day. The deputies agreed on the likelihood
of war because of "Serb-Slav chauvinism," and said that Albania
is opposed to changing borders. They called for demilitarizing
Kosovo, and for sending international observers there. Kosovar
leaders themselves have publicly taken similar positions. ATA
also reported that the deputies discussed the delicate Slav-Albanian
relations in Macedonia, but did not elaborate. Albanian and Macedonian
spokesmen have suggested that Serbia is trying to provoke a confrontation
between Macedonians and Albanians in that southernmost ex-Yugoslav
republic, where the Albanians make up between 20 and 40% of the
population, depending on whose figures are used. (Patrick Moore)


EC SUMMIT TO CONFRONT DEADLOCK ON MACEDONIA. British and Greek
media over the weekend of 4-6 December reported that no compromise
has been reached between Greece and some of its partners on the
question of recognizing Macedonia, which is expected to be a
major issue at the EC Edinburgh summit on 10-11 December. Athens
reportedly rejected the formula of calling the former Yugoslav
republic "Republic of Macedonia, Skopje," arguing that the name
Macedonia is Greek patrimony and that for the neighboring state
to use it is for it to imply territorial claims on northern Greece.
The issue has become a heady one in Greek politics. Macedonian
Slavs argue that the Macedonian heritage belongs to all peoples
living in that area, and Skopje's officials have repeatedly denied
any claims on Greek territory. Certain of Greece's EC partners
are reportedly impatient with Athens and many of them want to
recognize Skopje to help prevent the spread of conflict to that
republic. A Macedonian consulate has already opened in Bonn.
(Patrick Moore)

BULGARIA OPENS DIPLOMATIC MISSION IN SKOPJE. Bulgaria has opened
a consulate in Skopje, capital of the ex-Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia Western agencies report on 6-December. General Consul
Angel Genchev appeared on Bulgarian TV and said Sofia will upgrade
its diplomatic presence to embassy level as soon as Macedonia
is recognized by the EC. Bulgaria was the first country to recognize
Macedonia. Meanwhile, because Bulgaria has suffered a severe
setback in trade as a result of UN sanctions against ex-Yugoslavia,
Foreign Minister Stoyan Ganev has requested UN Secretary-General
Boutros Boutros-Ghali to consider compensation. (Kjell Engelbrekt)


EC RULES OUT TIMETABLE FOR ADMISSION. On 4 December the Executive
Commission of the European Community ruled against setting a
timetable for East European countries to join the organization,
saying it would premature. At the same time, however, the commission
urged EC leaders to confirm that they accept the goal of membership
for these countries once they meet the necessary conditions.
Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary recently submitted a joint
memorandum to the EC asking for membership negotiations to begin
in 1996 with a view to joining the organization by the end of
the century. The report points out that the prospect of eventual
EC membership is important as a stimulus to investment and a
discouragement to excessive nationalism in the former communist
countries. (Jan Obrman)

DEEP DIVISIONS IN CZECH PARLIAMENT OVER CONSTITUTION. The Presidium
of the Czech National Council released a statement on 4 December
saying that there are major divisions between the governing coalition
and the opposition on the Czech constitution currently being
drafted. Opposition representatives have repeatedly complained
about provisions that passage of a law would require only a simple
majority, rather than a three-fifths majority that is required
by the federal constitution. Another main point of contention
is the administrative setup of the Czech Republic. (Jan Obrman)


US CONSULATE IN BRATISLAVA BUGGED. Czechoslovak TV reported on
5 December that every room in the US consulate in the Slovak
capital was bugged and that the US State Department has protested
to the Czechoslovak federal government. The bugging devices were
reportedly of recent manufacture. US Consul-General Paul Hacker
confirmed to Reuters that "something was found in the building"
without further elaboration. Czechoslovak media later reported,
however, that Hacker also complained to Slovak authorities about
alleged inadequate protection of the US compound and that consulate
staff have suspected they were being followed. In his regular
televised address on 6 December Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir
Meciar implied that the communists were responsible for the bugging
and that the current Slovak government had nothing to do with
it. Meciar also suggested that the affair might be a sophisticated
plot by Czech and federal authorities designed to discredit Slovakia.
(Jan Obrman)

CZECH CP LEADER STABBED. A masked assailant stabbed Czech Communist
Party leader Jiri Svoboda at his home on 5 December, CTK reports.
Svoboda underwent surgery but his condition is described as stable.
Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus condemned the attack as a "great
misfortune" for the country's reputation abroad and its long
tradition of democracy. (Jan Obrman)

MOLDOVA'S TIU IN BUDAPEST, BUCHAREST. Moldovan Foreign Minister
Nicolae Tiu paid an official visit to Budapest on 4 December
and met with his Hungarian counterpart, Geza Jeszenszky, as well
as with President Arpad Goncz and other officials, MTI reports.
Tiu and Jeszenszky signed a protocol instituting regular bilateral
diplomatic consultations, TASS reports, and a Hungarian Foreign
Ministry spokesman said Hungary will send an ambassador to Chisinau,
raising the level of diplomatic representation there. He also
said that Moldova favors the Hungarian proposal to include Moldova
in the initiative launched by Hungary, Ukraine, Slovenia, and
Croatia to protect the rights of minorities. Jeszenszky voiced
support for Moldova's request for assistance from international
organizations in settling the Dniester conflict, TASS reports.
Later stopping off in Bucharest, Tiu conferred with Romanian
Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, who told Radio Bucharest on
6 December that "an attempt was made to establish a mechanism
for diplomatic consultations between Bucharest and Chisinau".
(Karoly Okolicsanyi & Vladimir Socor)

ETHNIC TENSION RISES IN TRANSYLVANIA. Friction between the Hungarian
minority and the Romanian majority in Transylvania increased
over the weekend after the nationalist mayor of Cluj banned a
Hungarian rally scheduled for 6 December to protest recent restrictions
on minority cultural rights. On 30 November Mayor Gheorghe Funar
ordered Hungarian street names in Cluj changed and a Romanian-language
plaque installed on the statue of mediaeval Hungarian King Mathias.
Radio Bucharest quoted Funar on 5 December as saying that the
planned Hungarian rally was "illegal" and "neo-Horthyist." Emil
Constantinescu, leader of the centrist Democratic Convention
of Romania, described Funar's moves as "a provocation" against
Romania's Hungarians, who number 1.6-2.0 million. The Hungarian
Democratic Federation of Romania cancelled the rally to prevent
trouble, organizing instead a march of some 5,000 through the
center of Cluj. Hundreds of police cordoned off the area. No
violence was reported despite counterdemonstrations by groups
of Romanian nationalists. (Dan Ionescu)

"CONSERVATIVE PARTY" FORMED IN POLAND. The jostling for position
among Poland's multitude of right-of-center parties continued
with the creation on 6 December of a Conservative Party, formed
from the merger of the Democratic Right Forum (formerly the right
wing of the Democratic Union), the Republican Coalition, and
a regional splinter group from the Liberal Democratic Congress.
The party mixes support for capitalism with respect for Christian
and national traditions, and is led by Aleksander Hall, a one-time
ally of former Prime Minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki. In coalition
with two other small parties, the Conservative Party is represented
in the Sejm by the Polish Convention caucus. It belongs to the
government coalition. (Louisa Vinton)

WALESA HAILS MILITARY SERVICE. Polish President Lech Walesa looked
on as his son swore the oath of military service at a naval training
base at Ustka on 5 December. In remarks during the ceremony that
were carried by PAP, Walesa said that military service "is a
necessity, but also an honor." He urged the young soldiers to
remember that "he who does not respect his own army will be forced
to respect a foreign one." These convictions have led Walesa
to resist pressure to pardon Roman Galuszko, a would-be conscientious
objector now serving a one-and-a-half year prison term for draft
evasion. (Louisa Vinton)

MOLDOVAN PREMIER IN ESTONIA, LATVIA, BELARUS. On 4 December Andrei
Sangheli completed a tour of Estonia, Latvia, and Belarus. Bilateral
agreements on trade and economic cooperation for 1993 were signed,
and Sangheli and his three host prime ministers agreed that political
treaties between Moldova and each of the three will be drafted
for early signature. Prime Ministers Mart Laar of Estonia and
Ivars Godmanis of Latvia agreed with Sangheli on the need for
mutual support in international forums to obtain the withdrawal
of Russian troops from their countries, Moldovapres reports.
Belarus Supreme Council Chairman Stanislav Shushkevich accepted
an invitation to visit Chisinau later this month to sign the
political treaty. (Vladimir Socor)

RUSSIAN BORDER GUARDS CONTINUE WITHDRAWING FROM ESTONIA. Baltfax
reported on 4-December that 38 of the 42 border posts manned
by Russian forces have been turned over to Estonia and that three
more will be turned over in the very near future. (Dzintra Bungs)


SWEDISH AID FOR ESTONIA. Sweden has approved a decision to extend
10 million kronor, which will probably be used to help Estonia
buy fuel, Baltfax reported on 4 December. (Dzintra Bungs)

ZHIRINOVSKY'S VIEWS OF THE BALTIC STATES. Vladimir Zhirinovsky,
leader of Russia's Democratic-Liberal Party, told the Latvian
press that if the Baltic States refuse to cooperate with Russia,
they should be dismembered, Baltfax reported on 5 December. The
heavily Russian-populated areas of Estonia and Latvia should
become parts of the Pskov and Smolensk regions of Russia, Zhirinovsky
said, adding that only Kaunas, Siauliai, and Panevezys are Lithuanian
cities and the rest belong to Russia. Zhirinovsky suggested that
returning the three Baltic States to Moscow's jurisdiction would
be an even better solution. (Dzintra Bungs)

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