No. 213, 05 November 1993

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Inc.





RUSSIA



ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION IN ELECTION CAMPAIGN. Various opposition
parties have complained to observers from the European Community
of bias in the election campaign, The Financial Times reported
on 4-November. Sergei Baburin, the leader of the right-wing Russian
All-People's Union, said that his telephone had been cut off,
while communist leader Gennadii Zyuganov complained that his
protests to the Russian government about media bias had gone
unanswered. More serious allegations were made by Nikolai Travkin
of the Democratic Party, who accused local leaders appointed
by the President of using their office to collect signatures
for themselves. Ostankino TV said on 4 November that instances
of paying 20,000 rubles for 100 signatures had been observed,
and quoted Arkadii Volsky of the Civic Union as saying that other
parties were buying signatures for packets of cigarettes. -Wendy
Slater

EIGHT PARTIES SO FAR QUALIFY FOR ELECTIONS. An official of the
Russian Central Electoral Commission told an RFE/RL correspondent
on 4 November that eight political groups to date have collected
the requisite 100,000 signatures to participate in the elections.
The qualifying parties include the pro-Yeltsin Russia's Choice;
the Communist Party of the Russian Federation; Vladimir Zhirinovksy's
far right Liberal Democratic Party; Baburin's Russian All-People's
Union; the Agrarian Party; Women of Russia; and the ecological
movement "Cedar." Nikolai Travkin, leader of the centrist Democratic
Party of Russia, also told RFE/RL on 4 November that his party
was close to reaching the 100,000 target, denying earlier rumors
that his party would fail to qualify to stand in the elections.
Arkadii Volsky, leader of the Civic Union, meanwhile, told ITAR-TASS
on 4 November that his party had already collected 80,000 signatures
and was confident of collecting the remainder. -Wendy Slater


YELTSIN MAY CANCEL EARLY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. Presidential
spokesman Vyacheslav Kostikov has hinted that early presidential
elections, as announced by President Boris Yeltsin, may be canceled
and Yeltsin will serve until his term ends in 1996, Western agencies
reported on 3 November. -Alexander Rahr

CHRISTOPHER: POSITIVE ASSESSMENT OF RUSSIAN MILITARY DOCTRINE.
Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on 4
November, US Secretary of State Warren Christopher said that
a preliminary US government assessment of Russia's recently announced
military doctrine determined that it did not undermine the "crucial
principle" of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity
of other former Soviet republics, an RFE/RL correspondent reported
from Washington. Christopher was also reassuring on the use of
nuclear weapons, saying that Russia's newly stated policy differs
little from US policy in that area. According to Reuters, Christopher
dismissed remarks made on 3 November by Russian Defense Minister
Pavel Grachev that appeared to reject NATO membership for Eastern
European states and that bluntly linked the pullout of Russian
troops from the Baltic states to alleged civil rights abuses
against the Russian minorities in Estonia and Latvia. Christopher,
just back from Moscow, said Grachev's comments were a personal
view and did not represent the position of the government. -Stephen
Foye

GRACHEV TO CHINA; THE VIEW FROM TOKYO. Reuters quoted Russian
diplomats in Beijing on 5-November as saying that Defense Minister
Pavel Grachev will begin an official visit to China on 8 November.
According to the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun on 3-November,
Grachev's visit had originally been planned last December during
a visit by Boris Yeltsin to China, and was to have taken place
earlier this year but was delayed because of domestic problems
in Russia. While in China, Grachev will reportedly sign an accord
on increased military cooperation between the two countries.
Noting both that the visit is the first to China by a Russian
Defense Minister, and that it follows closely on the heels of
a late October visit by a top US-Defense Department official,
the Japanese newspaper surmised that China was attempting to
further the modernization of its military forces by playing Russia
off against the US. The US, Japan and a number of Asian countries
have expressed concern over China's military build-up and over
Russia's role to date as a supplier of advanced military technology
to China. -Stephen Foye

KUNADZE APPOINTED AMBASSADOR TO REPUBLIC OF KOREA. Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Georgii Kunadze has been named Russian ambassador
to South Korea by order of Boris Yeltsin, Interfax reported on
2 November. Kunadze, who will replace Aleksandr Panov in Seoul,
had been responsible for oversight of Russian policy toward Japan
and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. He had often been
the target of criticism from conservatives over his alleged willingness
to make concessions to Japan on the Kuril Islands issue. The
new posting appears to represent a demotion for Kunadze; it remains
unclear if the change, which comes in the wake of Boris Yeltsin's
recent visit to Japan, signifies a change of course in Russian
policy vis-a-vis Japan or the Asian-Pacific region as a whole.
A replacement for Kunadze has apparently not yet been named.
-Stephen Foye

SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS SPAR OVER NUCLEAR DUMPING. First Deputy
CINC of the Russian Navy Admiral Igor Kasatonov, on a visit to
the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, was quoted by ITAR-TASS
and KYODO on 29 October as saying that the Pacific Fleet would
probably continue to dump radioactive liquid waste into the Sea
of Japan because authorities in Moscow recognized the need for
the dumping. A day later, according to Interfax, the head of
the Pacific Maritime territorial administration, Evgenii Nazdratenko,
demurred, claiming that there was another way to solve the problem:
by dumping the wastes into the open ocean, rather than into the
Sea of Japan. Also on 30-November, Pacific Fleet commander Admiral
Georgii Gurinov said that, while he would await the go-ahead
from Moscow, dumping would have to be resumed because of the
inevitable opposition by Far Eastern residents to storage of
the nuclear waste materials on land, KYODO reported. That same
day Norway's Foreign Minister, on an official visit to Tokyo,
condemned Russia's dumping operations in the Sea of Japan and
criticized Russia for its refusal to allow international inspections
of its nuclear waste disposal facilities. On 4-November AFP reported
that a joint Russian-Japanese inquiry into the effects of liquid
nuclear waste dumping had been postponed until early next year.
-Stephen Foye

AUSTERITY PACKAGE PREPARED FOR IMF. Finance Minister Boris Fedorov
told a news conference on 4 November that the government has
approved his ministry's draft plan for economic policy through
the end of 1994, Russian and Western agencies reported. The package
is to be submitted to the International Monetary Fund in the
hope of receiving the second half of the IMF's $3-billion systemic
transformation facility before the end of 1993 plus a further
$3 billion in standby credit. The plan envisages reducing monthly
inflation to 15% by January 1994 and to 2-5% by December 1994.
The budget deficit is to be kept below 10% of GDP in 1993. Export
quotas for non-energy related commodities will be scrapped by
December 1993 and for energy related commodities during 1994.
Export duties will be abolished in 1994, and import subsidies
will be canceled effective 1 November 1994. (Previous commitments
to the IMF have not been met). -Keith Bush

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA



RUSSIAN TROOPS LAND IN POTI. A first wave of some 200 Russian
paratroopers landed in Poti on 4-November to guard railway lines
and roads in western Georgia against attack from troops loyal
to ousted president Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Western agencies reported.
In New York, the UN Security Council reiterated its call for
adherence to the Abkhaz ceasefire and decided to continue its
observer mission in Abkhazia, according to an RFE/RL correspondent.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Boris Pastukhov told Abkhaz officials
in Moscow on 4 November that Russia will lift sanctions on Abkhazia
only when human rights violations are ended and refugees permitted
to return, Interfax reported. UN special envoy for Abkhazia Eduard
Brunner is scheduled to arrive in Moscow on 5 November for "working
consultations" on the Abkhaz situation, ITAR-TASS reported. -Liz
Fuller

UZBEK JOURNALISTS ON TRIAL. Four members of the staff of Erk,
the banned newspaper of the main Uzbek opposition party, went
on trial in Tashkent on 3-November on charges of abusing private
property, falsifying documents and receiving stolen goods, according
to a correspondent for RFE/RL's Uzbek BD. The four men do not
have legal representation; all four have denied the charges against
them. -Liz Fuller

TAJIKISTAN TO HOLD REFERENDUM ON NEW CONSTITUTION? IN AN INTERVIEW
GIVEN TO ITAR-TASS ON 29 OCTOBER, TAJIK DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER
RUSTAM MIRZOEV AFFIRMED THAT THE ADOPTION OF A NEW CONSTITUTION
IS AN ESSENTIAL PRECONDITION FOR THE BUILDING OF A TRULY DEMOCRATIC
STATE AND FOR THE TRANSITION TO A MARKET ECONOMY, BUT THAT TAJIKISTAN
WOULD NOT "BLINDLY COPY" EITHER WESTERN OR EASTERN MODELS. He
estimated that a draft constitution would be completed by the
end of this year, after which its "basic postulates" on human
rights, state structures, and property rights could be submitted
to a nation-wide referendum in early 1994. Also on 29-October,
the UN Security Council released an appeal by Tajik President
Imomali Rakhmonov to UN Secretary-General Boutros Ghali for the
convening of a Security Council session to discuss the ongoing
clashes on the Tajik-Afghan frontier, ITAR-TASS reported. -Liz
Fuller

CIS

UKRAINE TO KEEP SS-19 MISSILES UNTIL COMPENSATED FOR TACTICAL
WARHEADS. Deputy foreign minister Borys Tarasyuk said in an interview
with Holos Ukrainy that Ukraine would not deliver a single deactivated
SS-19 missile to Russia until Russia, Ukraine and the US resolved
the issue of compensation for Ukraine's tactical nuclear weapons,
ITAR-TASS reported on 3-November. According to the deputy chief
of the commission for armaments and disarmament of the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Volodymyr Balashov, since Russia has refused
to extend the definition of Ukraine's "nuclear arsenal" to include
tactical weapons already delivered to Russia, Ukraine is not
obligated to carry out the terms in the Massandra agreement pertaining
to the delivery of its nuclear weapons to Russia. So far not
a single legal document has been worked out which addresses the
issue of tactical weapons between Ukraine and Russia, UNIAN reported
on 2 November. -Ustina Markus

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE



CROATIA REPORTS CEASEFIRE DEAL. According to reports carried
by Croatian TV on 4-November, representatives from the Croatian
army and rebel Serb forces defending the self-proclaimed Republic
of Serbian Krajina have reached a ceasefire deal. The agreement
was reportedly signed in the town of Osijek, in eastern Croatia,
and is to take effect in and around Osijek on 7 November, at
noon local time. According to the TV reports, the deal was negotiated
and signed in the presence of UNPROFOR officials. However, Reuters
reports on 4-November that representatives from UNPROFOR have
been unable to confirm any involvement with the ceasefire signing.
Meanwhile, on 5 November Reuters reports that UN and Serbian
officials allege that Croats have been abducting Serbs from Krajina
for the purpose of using them in prisoner exchanges. Milivoj
Tomas, in charge of Croatia's relations with UNPROFOR, has dismissed
such allegations, calling them "fabrications by the Serb side."
-Stan Markotich

BOSNIA UPDATE. According to Western agencies, at least several
hundred Bosnian Muslim troops entered the central Bosnian town
of Vares on 4 November. This latest action follows a massive
withdrawal of an estimated 15,000 Croatian troops, which pulled
out of the city and the surrounding areas on 3 November. Initially,
the Muslim forces were well received by the local population,
which is predominantly Muslim. However, subsequent reports suggest
that the Muslim troops are robbing and looting and even sacked
a warehouse holding relief supplies. Bosnian President Alija
Izetbegovic said the troops entered the city as "a preventative
measure" to protect the Muslim population from Croat forces.
-Stan Markotich

ARKAN THREATENS TO EXPEL "DISLOYAL" ALBANIANS FROM KOSOVO . .
. Zeljko Raznatovic "Arkan," a Serb nationalist paramilitary
leader and Party of Serbian Unity representative to the federal
parliament from Kosovo, said at a press conference in Pristina
that "in the course of 50 years the communists settled Albanian
immigrants [in Kosovo] and thus created a nation artificially."
He went on to say that "Albanians who are loyal to Serbia and
who look to Belgrade are welcome," but added in reference to
next month's legislative elections: "if I get power in Kosovo,
all those who look to Tirana must pack their suitcases and go
back to Albania." Borba carried the report on 3 November. Arkan
is internationally wanted as a war-criminal for his activities
in Croatia, Bosnia, and the Sandzak, but has more recently established
his power base in Kosovo, which has a majority of at least 90%
ethnic Albanians. He and his supporters have sought to taunt
the Albanians with nationalist rhetoric and symbols. -Fabian
Schmidt

. . . WHILE PANIC URGES SERBIAN-ALBANIAN DIALOGUE. Elsewhere,
former Yugoslav Prime Minister Milan Panic said that the Serbs
made the Kosovo problem themselves, Rilindja reports on 2 November.
Panic, whose brief period in office in 1992 witnessed some improvement
in the atmosphere of Serbian-Albanian relations, called for further
talks between the Serbian government and the Kosovar Albanian
leadership. Most of the latter plan to boycott the elections
in December unless some basic freedoms are restored in Kosovo,
but the Serbian opposition would like the Albanians to join progressive
Serbs in voting against President Slobodan Milosevic's candidates
and other nationalists, including Arkan. Kosovo's Albanians have
generally presented a politically united front to the outside
world, but recently some leaders such as Veton Surroi have begun
to question openly the wisdom of boycotting Serbian public life
indefinitely. Many observers have speculated that a solid Albanian
turn-out for Panic in his contest against Milosevic for the Serbian
presidency could have tipped the scales in Panic's favor. -Fabian
Schmidt

SOLIDARITY REFUSES TALKS WITH GOVERNMENT . . . Solidarity announced
on 3-November that it will not participate in negotiations with
the new government until the status of previous agreements with
the union is clarified, PAP reports. The Solidarity leadership
rejected a request from the new labor minister, Leszek Miller,
for a meeting in Gdansk on 5 November. Solidarity Chairman Marian
Krzaklewski said the union does not rule out a meeting with Miller
but wants an explicit statement on the status of the "pact on
state firms" and other agreements. He also criticized the government
for taking a piecemeal approach to the legislative package designed
to implement the "pact." -Louisa Vinton

. . . WHILE OPZZ DEMANDS WAGE HIKES. Meanwhile, Premier Waldemar
Pawlak met with Ewa Spychalska, chairman of the former official
OPZZ trade union federation, on 3-November. Although the OPZZ
is a member of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD), the dominant
force in both the parliament and the ruling coalition, the federation
has already tried to distance itself from government policy.
The meeting was reportedly cordial, and Pawlak pledged to consult
the trade unions on policy decisions. However, Spychalska said
afterwards that the new government's decision to postpone until
January 1994 a promised pay increase for teachers, health care
workers, and other budget sector employees is "unacceptable."
Pawlak blamed the outgoing government for the delay in implementing
the wage raises. -Louisa Vinton

POLISH PARTIES REGROUP FOR LOCAL ELECTIONS. The big losers in
the September parliamentary elections are seeking alliances or
mergers in an attempt to preserve a political existence and regain
some ground in the local government elections scheduled for 1994.
The Liberal Democratic Congress (KLD), which failed to clear
the 5% Sejm threshold, announced on 4 November that it is prepared
to merge with the Democratic Union (UD) on one condition: that
the UD agree to form an entirely new, "middle-class" party, from
the bottom up, and not simply absorb the KLD into its ranks.
The UD leadership invited the KLD to join forces in October,
but left-wing UD members opposed the idea. Also on 4 November,
the right-wing Center Alliance accepted a coalition offer from
the Christian National Union (ZChN). Neither party won seats
in the Sejm, although they together controlled about 10% of the
vote. Meanwhile, the Gdansk branches of the UD, KLD and Conservative
Party (which was allied with the ZChN in the Sejm elections)
formed an electoral coalition on 4 November. The local government
elections are shaping up as a crucial test of strength for the
opposition parties. Government officials have indicated that
they intend to postpone any further devolution of power to local
government bodies until after new elections, in which the two
"postcommunist" parties expect to win majorities. The last local
elections were held in 1990. -Louisa Vinton

CZECH PREMIER IN FRANCE. Vaclav Klaus arrived in Paris on 4 November
to meet French officials. After his meeting with French Prime
Minister Edouard Balladur, Klaus downplayed Czech-French differences
over Balladur's recent plan for a European security pact. CTK
reports Klaus as saying that he was satisfied with the explanation
of the French plan, but that he was still taking a reserved stand
on it. Balladur and Klaus decided to form a French-Czech group,
which would discuss the plan "to ensure there are no misunderstandings."
The Czech premier also met with French President Francois Mitterand,
with whom he discussed Mitterand's proposal for a European confederation
which would include both the members of the European Union and
post-communist East European states. During a meeting with French
Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, Klaus criticized the French stance
on the GATT. At a meeting with representatives of French companies,
Klaus said "the Czech Republic is the most successful of all
post-communist countries," arguing that "its political, economic,
and currency stability make the Czech republic a paradise for
foreign investors." The Czech premier also said that it was not
fair to accuse Eastern Europe of nationalist tendencies while
Western Europe practices trade protectionism, which, in Klaus's
opinion, "is also a form of nationalism." -Jiri Pehe

KOVAC REQUESTS ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP IN NATO. On the second day
of his Brussels visit, Slovak President Michal Kovac addressed
NATO, TASR reports on 4 November. The president said his country
agrees completely with the West's cultural and political views
and called discussions about the "indefinite orientation" of
Slovakia unfounded. Kovac requested formal associate membership
in NATO and the WEU, saying "it is not possible to seek integration
with the West only politically or economically." Kovac went on
to say he believes the countries of the Visegrad Group should
be integrated into Western organizations simultaneously. NATO
Secretary General Manfred Woerner expressed his appreciation
for the peaceful breakup of Czechoslovakia and for Slovakia's
attempts to build a democratic state, but he ruled out associate
membership in the alliance, Reuters reports. Instead, Woerner
said, a "Partnership for Peace" plan is expected to be offered
at the January summit. -Sharon Fisher

SLOVAK FOREIGN TRADE. According to a 4 November report of the
Slovak Statistical Office, the EC countries are Slovakia's biggest
trading partners, excluding the Czech Republic. In the first
six months of 1993 Slovakia registered a trade surplus of 2,617
billion koruny ($82 million) with the EC. During this period,
imports from the EC totaled 15,012 billion koruny, 24% higher
than in the same period last year, while Slovakia's exports to
the EC totaled 17,629 billion koruny, showing a decline of 10%.
Total Slovak exports sank 3.5% in the first six months of 1993
in relation to the same period of 1992. Of the EC nations, Germany
is Slovakia's biggest trading partner, followed by Italy, France
and Holland. -Sharon Fisher

ROMANIA FORMALLY JOINS COUNCIL OF EUROPE. On 4 November Romania
formally became the 32nd member state of the Council of Europe.
Radio Bucharest featured live coverage of the event, which was
marked by a flag-raising ceremony in Strasbourg. After the ceremony,
Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu signed the CE's anti-torture
convention, which commits countries to allow inspections of prisons,
police stations and psychiatric clinics without advance notice.
Melescanu later attended the council's 93rd foreign ministers
conference. The meeting ended with a communique saying that the
council's members agree to intensify cooperation programs with
East European countries in such areas as strengthening democratic
institutions and human rights. -Dan Ionescu

SOCIAL, ECONOMIC ISSUES UNDERMINE BULGARIAN GOVERNMENT. Deputy
Premier Evgeni Matinchev acknowledged on 4 November that the
Bulgarian cabinet is under considerable stress because of growing
social and economic problems but said it is not going to resign.
Matinchev told Reuters that the cabinet led by economic historian
Lyuben Berov remains committed to its original program launched
in January despite the fact that several blows to the economy,
especially the effects of the UN embargo against rump Yugoslavia,
has made implementation difficult. Most recently, the Bulgarian
government was criticized for its refusal to index wages and
pensions to inflation. Matinchev said it will be hard enough
to find money to pay wages at all, let alone to offer indexation.
He cited new statistics showing that during the first three quarters
of 1993 only half of the expected state revenues were collected
and that a growing number of enterprises are technically bankrupt.
The Berov cabinet has lately been repeatedly attacked for failing
to cooperate with international financial institutions and to
fulfill its initial pledge to become "a government of privatization."
-Kjell Engelbrekt

UKRAINE ON NEW RUSSIAN MILITARY DOCTRINE. A spokeswoman from
Ukraine's foreign ministry, Natalya Zarudna, told an RFE/RL correspondent
on 4 November that the new Russian doctrine on the use of nuclear
weapons has caused security concerns in Ukraine. According to
the Russian Defense Minister Pavel Grachev, Russia will not use
nuclear arms against a country which has no nuclear weapons of
its own and has signed the NPT agreement. Ukraine possesses over
1,00 nuclear warheads and has not signed the NPT agreement. Although
Zarudna said Ukraine still intends to dispose of its nuclear
weapons, it could be some time before the country is nuclear
free since it is still seeking security guarantees and financial
aid in dismantling the weapons. -Ustina Markus

FIVE HUNDRED CULT MEMBERS DETAINED IN KIEV. Police in Kiev have
detained some 500 followers of the "White Brotherhood" sect who
flocked into the capital for the celebration of "God on earth"
and the resurrection of its leader, Maria Devi Khrystos, (formerly
Maria Tsvyhun). The celebration, which was to be marked by the
end of the world, the collective suicide of the cult's followers,
and the ascension of Khrystos into heaven, was to begin on 1-November,
UNIAN reported on 3 November. The cult is led by Yurii Krivinohov
and Khrystos, both of whom are now in hiding. The cult's followers
are mostly young people in Russia, Moldova, Belarus, Uzbekistan
and Ukraine; in Kiev alone there are 2,200 adherents. So far
the cult has been accused of 143 cases of swindling and 199 cases
of squatting, and has been charged with encouraging suicide.
An organization of parents of the cult's adherents, called "Salvation"
(Poryatunok), has been trying to "deprogram" youths who have
joined the sect. -Ustina Markus

ANOTHER GAS AND OIL CUT OFF FOR BELARUS? REUTERS REPORTS ON 4
NOVEMBER THAT BELARUS FAILED TO MEET THE DEADLINE ON ITS FUEL
PAYMENTS TO RUSSIA AND FACES HAVING ALL OIL AND GAS SUPPLIES
CUT OFF. Leonid Zhakovich of the state planning commission told
reporters that Belarus should have paid over $100-million for
natural gas and another $36 million for oil by 1-November. In
August Russia began cutting energy supplies to Belarus because
of arrears on its debts; in October it supplied just 430,000
tons of oil, and the Russian firm Rozkontrakt said it would only
supply 200,000 tons in November instead of 1 million. In an interview
with Femida, Russian ambassador to Belarus Igor Saprykin said
that while Russia does not want to lose Belarus as a "partner,
neighbor, friend," it is not prepared to support it, or any other
republic, economically, Radiefakt reported on 3 November. -Ustina
Markus

MOLDOVA DAMAGED BY RUSSIAN ECONOMIC PRESSURE. Moldovan President
Mircea Snegur and Parliament Vice-Chairman Victor Puscasu told
ITAR-TASS and Interfax on 4 and 2 November, respectively, that
the excise and value added taxes imposed in August by Russia
on agricultural imports from Moldova (a non-CIS state) cost Moldova
more than 40 billion rubles in lost exports-damage equal to that
caused by last year's drought. That drought necessitated international
relief and set back Moldova's economic reform plans which recently
won the praise of donor states and international financial institutions.
The new, prohibitive Russian tariffs played a major role in pressuring
Chisinau into the decision to join the CIS Economic Union and
ratify Moldova's membership of the CIS, but the economic damage
inflicted on Moldova in the process again endangers the implementation
of reform plans. -Vladimir Socor

LITHUANIAN-RUSSIAN SUMMIT "CONSTRUCTIVE." In 4 November press
conference, Lithuanian President Algirdas Brazauskas described
his meeting with Russian President Boris Yeltsin as constructive
and as a new step in relations between the two countries. He
said that the presidents of Estonia and Latvia would also like
to have the opportunity to improve relations with Russia. Initial
Russian and Baltic agency reports indicate that the two heads
of state discussed 20 draft agreements, some of which were initialed.
Nine agreements on economic cooperation are expected to be signed
when Russian Premier Boris Chernomyrdin visits Lithuania later
this month, probably on 15 and 16-November. Brazauskas expressed
satisfaction over the withdrawal of Russian troops from his country,
and explained that an accord on Russian transit rights through
Lithuania to Kaliningrad has been drafted and may be signed by
Chernomyrdin in mid-November. -Dzintra Bungs

LITHUANIA, EBRD TO ESTABLISH NEW INVESTMENT BANK. Baltic media
report on 4-November that the EBRD and the Lithuanian government
have drawn up plans to establish an investment bank in Lithuania.
The EBRD will hold 35% of the shares, and the Lithuanian government
the remaining 65%. The new bank's fixed assets will reportedly
total 5 million ecus, and the North Investment Bank is to be
the principal source of the credit resources. Ulf Hindstrom,
vice president of the North Investment Bank, said his bank's
goal is to grant long-term credits to the private sector in Lithuania.
-Dzintra Bungs

TALLINN CITY COUNCIL PICKS ITS LEADERS. BNS reports on 4 November
that the Tallinn city council elected chairman of its 11 commissions.
The chairman of the foreign relations commission was not elected.
The majority of the new chairmen are Estonians, and include such
well known politicians as Arnold Ruutel as chairman of the culture
commission and Tiit Vahi as chairman of the finance commission.
Viktor Pkopolyakoff was elected chairman of the social affairs
commission, while Margarita Chernogorova, a council member on
the Russian Revel ticket, and Sergei Kuznetsov failed to be elected.
-Dzintra Bungs

[As of 1200 CET] Compiled by Ustina Markus and Sharon Fisher





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