No. 109, Part I, 6 June 1995

We welcome you to Part I of the Open Media Research Institute's Daily
Digest. This part focuses on Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia, and
the CIS. Part II, distributed simultaneously as a second document,
covers East-Central and Southeastern Europe.  Back issues of the OMRI Daily
Digest, and other information about OMRI, are available through our WWW
pages: http://www.omri.cz/OMRI.html

RUSSIA
ELECTION WATCHDOG ORGANIZATION CREATED. Politicians from several
democratic parties and movements founded the watchdog organization "For
Honest Elections," Russian TV reported on 5 June. Yabloko member Viktor
Sheinis said the group will set up its own network of election observers
to supervise vote counting, so that the official results of the December
parliamentary elections reflect the actual voting. Yegor Gaidar of
Russia' s Democratic Choice, Telman Gdlyan of the People' s Party of
Russia, Vasily Lipitsky of the Civic Union, Irina Khakamada of Common
Cause, and Gleb Yakunin of Democratic Russia also helped found the
watchdog group. -- Laura Belin, Copyright(c)1995 Open Media Research
Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

NEW CRACKDOWN ON INFORMATION FROM CHECHNYA? One American and two French
journalists who spent three weeks reporting from separatist-held areas
in southern Chechnya were arrested while crossing the border into
Dagestan, AFP reported on 5 June. Dagestani Interior Ministry officials
reportedly told the journalists they would be turned over to Russian
military authorities. Meanwhile, on 3 June security officers at Moscow'
s Sheremetevo airport searched Democratic Union leader Valeriya
Novodvorskaya and Party of Economic Freedom chairman Konstantin Borovoi.
Novodvorskaya and Borovoi were on their way to address the European
Parliament in Luxembourg, and the airport officers seized a
videocassette allegedly containing evidence of human rights violations
in Chechnya. On 5 June, the Glasnost Protection Fund denounced the
government' s "illegal" attempts to control information about the
Chechen events, Interfax reported. -- Laura Belin, Copyright(c)1995 Open
Media Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

NO LETTER FROM LEBED AT PRESIDENT' S OFFICE. Presidential spokesman
Sergei Medvedev and national security adviser Yury Bakhtin said no
letter of resignation or personal message from 14th Army Commander Lt.
Gen. Alexander Lebed had reached the president' s headquarters, Interfax
reported on 5 June. Defense Minister Pavel Grachev signed Lebed' s
resignation letter on 1 June, and Defense Ministry officials said they
had forwarded the letter to the president' s office. Unnamed Kremlin
sources told Interfax that President Yeltsin needs more time to decide
whether to accept Lebed' s resignation. -- Laura Belin, Copyright(c)1995
Open Media Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

CONCILIATORY COMMISSION FAILS TO COMPROMISE ON DUMA ELECTORAL LAW. The
conciliatory commission failed to agree to provisions of the Duma
electoral law in its meeting on 5 June, Interfax reported. The
Federation Council representatives agreed with the Duma proposal to
maintain the current proportion of 225 deputies elected by party list
and 225 elected from single-mandate districts, but called for a number
of amendments restricting the party lists. The upper house suggested
that no region be allowed more than 30% of the slots on the party list
(to limit the number of candidates from Moscow) and that deputies
running simultaneously on the party list and in single-mandate districts
be required to gather signatures in support of their candidacy.
Candidates in the single-member districts must collect signatures from
1% of the voters in their district. The Duma representatives agreed to
the latter proposal but refused to introduce a regional limit on party
list candidates. The commission will resume its deliberations on 8 June.
-- Robert Orttung, Copyright(c)1995 Open Media Research Institute, Inc.
All rights reserved.

RUSSIA WANTS UN SANCTIONS ON IRAQ LIFTED. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister
Tariq Aziz met with Russian officials in Moscow on 5 June, Interfax and
Western agencies reported. Following a meeting between Aziz and Russian
Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, a high-ranking Russian diplomat said
the session produced "very positive and encouraging results." He added
that Russia is waiting "impatiently" for UN sanctions to be lifted. In
the same vein, Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Davydov noted that Russia is
ready to launch $10 billion in energy projects in Iraq as soon as
sanctions are removed. The Kozyrev-Aziz meeting focused on the
forthcoming report of the UN commission for the disarmament of Iraq,
scheduled to be issued on 19 June. If the report indicates that Iraq is
making progress in compliance with UN resolutions, Russia will urge the
softening and eventual removal of sanctions, according to Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Viktor Posuvalyuk. -- Scott Parrish, Copyright(c)1995
Open Media Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

RUSSIA UNEASY ABOUT POSSIBLE NATO ACTION IN BOSNIA. Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin declared on 5 June that Russia opposes
NATO playing an "independent role" in the Bosnian conflict, Interfax
reported. He added that the UN should retain responsibility for
operations in Bosnia. Karasin' s statement was the latest Russian
reaction to NATO' s recent decision to create a "rapid reaction force"
to protect UN peacekeepers in Bosnia. On the same day, a Russian
diplomat at the UN told Interfax that any decision to send NATO troops
to Bosnia to help the peacekeepers would have to be approved by the UN
Security Council. He also warned that Russia might use its veto power to
block such a move -- Scott Parrish, Copyright(c)1995 Open Media Research
Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

DOLLAR DROPS TO TWO MONTH LOW AGAINST RUBLE. The U.S. dollar fell to
4,900 rubles to $1 in MICEX trading on 5 June, its lowest level against
the ruble since March, Russian and Western agencies reported. Russia' s
Central Bank bought $60 million to help close a gap between supply and
demand. Traders indicated that the dollar drop probably left the ruble
overvalued, given high Russian inflation rates, but the government
appeared determined to talk positively about the currency. Earlier this
year the dollar rose consistently against the ruble, breaking the 5,000
mark in April and reaching 5,130 rubles on 29 April. After holding
steady for about a week, the dollar began slipping and fell back below
the 5,000 level on 30 May. -- Thomas Sigel, Copyright(c)1995 Open Media
Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

CHUBAIS ANNOUNCES SIGNS OF ECONOMIC STABILIZATION. Russian First Deputy
Prime Minister Anatoly Chubais told regional officials from Siberia and
the Far East that Russia' s economy is on the verge of stabilizing,
Russian and Western agencies reported on 5 June. The minister attributed
the improvement to decreasing inflation, rising currency reserves in the
Central Bank of Russia, and decreasing interest rates. He also noted
growth in industrial output. Meanwhile, appearing on NTV on 5 June,
Central Bank Chairwoman Tatyana Paramonova said the significant rise in
the value of the ruble is due to the government' s economic policies.
She denied claims that the bank was intervening to support the ruble. --
Thomas Sigel, Copyright(c)1995 Open Media Research Institute, Inc. All
rights reserved.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS REMAIN. While the government has been upbeat about
progress in financial stabilization during the first five months of the
year, it acknowledges that serious problems remain in the social sphere.
According to Rossiiskaya gazeta on 6 June, real incomes fell by almost
5% this year in comparison with the first five months of 1994. Only
38.4% of total personal income came from wages, compared with 52.3% from
January to May 1994. The average monthly wage ($78 in April 1995) was
11.3 times the minimum wage. The situation was worst for workers paid
from the state budget, whose wages were often late as well as low. The
richest 10% of the population receive one third of total income, and
earn 13.3 times what the poorest 10% earned (compared with 12.4 times
during the same period last year.) About 45 million people live in
families whose average per capita income is below the poverty line. The
number of officially registered unemployed in May was 2.2 million, or
2.4% of the working population. -- Penny Morvant, Copyright(c)1995 Open
Media Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

CHUBAIS ON STOCK MARKET FRAUD. First Deputy Prime Minister Chubais said
on 5 June that the government intends to submit to the Duma amendments
to the Criminal Code introducing criminal responsibility for stock
market fraud. Offenders will be liable to between three and eight years
in prison, Interfax reported. Chubais also said the government wants to
increase the powers of the Commission on Securities and the Stock
Market. -- Penny Morvant, Copyright(c)1995 Open Media Research
Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

REGIONAL CONFERENCE TO OPEN IN KYRGYZSTAN. The Central Asiatic
Conference on Regional Cooperation is scheduled to begin on 12 June at
the Issyk-Kul resort area in eastern Kyrgyzstan, according to Interfax.
The agenda is scheduled to include discussions on increasing economic
cooperation and preventing political and military conflicts.
Participants will include representatives of the Russian Federation,
Iran, Turkey, and UNESCO, as well as the Central Asian republics
Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, Slovo Kyrgyzstana
reported. -- Bruce Pannier, Copyright(c)1995 Open Media Research
Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

TAJIK GOVERNMENT SATISFIED WITH ALMATY TALKS. First Deputy Prime
Minister Makhmadsaid Ubaidullaiyev, the leader of the Tajik government'
s delegation at the Almaty talks, said he is pleased with the results of
the latest round of negotiations between his government and the
opposition, especially on the issue of the repatriation of refugees from
Afghanistan. However, he added that "serious disagreements" persist in
other areas. Ubaidullaiyev reiterated the government' s unwillingness to
share power with the opposition and called the opposition' s demand for
the removal of troops from the Gorno-Badakhshan region "unacceptable."
He added, "We have been increasing and will be increasing our presence
in Gorno-Badakhshan," according to Interfax. On 20 July the two sides
will begin exchanging prisoners of war, on a one-for-one basis. For
"humanitarian" reasons, the government has suspended the death sentences
of some opposition members until the peace talks are concluded. -- Bruce
Pannier, Copyright(c)1995 Open Media Research Institute, Inc. All rights
reserved.

SECURITY COOPERATION BETWEEN AZERBAIJAN, RUSSIA. Azerbaijani National
Security Minister Namig Abbasov and Russian Federal Security Service
director Sergei Stepashin signed a cooperation agreement on 1 June,
Interfax reported. The document provides for both countries to cooperate
in personnel training, fighting organized crime and drug trafficking,
and the establishment of a joint data bank. Abbasov praised Russia' s
arrest of Nusret Bugdanov, allegedly a close associate of Suret
Huseinov, for complicity in an attempted overthrow of the present
government of Azerbaijan; he also hoped the new agreement will be
instrumental in extraditing former top Azerbaijani officials residing in
Moscow. However, Stepashin said Russia' s prosecutor general must issue
warrants before any further arrests can be made. -- Lowell Bezanis,
Copyright(c)1995 Open Media Research Institute, Inc. All rights
reserved.

ALIEV TRANSFORMED? Azerbaijani President Heidar Aliev is reported to
have told Stepashin that he hoped the security agreement signed in Baku
would contribute to bilateral cooperation with Russia in every field,
Interfax reported on 5 June. Praising the CIS security cooperation
agreement recently signed in Georgia, Aliev called for enhanced intra-
CIS security cooperation and indicated that those who viewed the CIS as
a non-starter were mistaken. He also said the CIS should evolve into a
"kind of state," according to Interfax. The agreement itself and Aliev'
s comments represent a shift in Baku' s earlier reluctant stance on CIS
integration efforts and Russian regional and security interests. --
Lowell Bezanis, Copyright(c)1995 Open Media Research Institute, Inc. All
rights reserved.

RAKHMONOV, KARIMOV TANGLE? Uzbek President Islam Karimov and his Tajik
counterpart, Imomali Rakhmonov, were involved in "intense polemics" at
the 26 May Minsk CIS summit, Segodnya reported on 30 May. Karimov called
on Rakhmonov to show greater flexibility to reach a compromise with the
opposition and said Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev was of the same
opinion. According to Segodnya, Karimov told Rakhmonov "you should share
your authority." Rakhmonov defended the constitutional nature of his
rule and rejected outside interference. He said he had a "tough talk"
with Tajik opposition leader Abdullah Nuri in Kabul last month and
insinuated that mercenaries from Uzbekistan were fighting on the side of
the rebels, according to Segodnya. -- Lowell Bezanis, Copyright(c)1995
Open Media Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

CENTRAL ASIA, JAPAN AND GAS. Uzbek officials and the director of Japan'
s Mitsubishi Corporation, Sinroku Morohase, held talks on the
construction of a natural gas pipeline that will run through
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan,
Interfax reported on 5 June. Construction is expected to begin in the
year 2000; the total estimated cost of the project--which will move 18
billion cubic meters of gas per year initially--is $9.5 billion.
Morohase held talks with Uzbekistan' s deputy prime ministers Kayum
Khakkulov and Utkur Sultanov and President Karimov on the pipeline
project and joint Uzbek-Japanese projects to modernize the Almalyk
mining combine in the Tashkent province. He told Karimov Japan holds a
positive view of Uzbekistan' s "special" reform path. -- Lowell Bezanis,
Copyright(c)1995 Open Media Research Institute, Inc. All rights
reserved.

CIS

BLACK SEA FLEET APPARENTLY SHRINKNG. The headquarters of the Black Sea
Fleet on 5 June gave Interfax a breakdown of the fleet' s strength,
indicating that the fleet had lost nearly one-third of its most powerful
assets during the past year. The inventory of all combat ships and
support vessels totaled 840 compared with 894 counted in April 1994. In
both years, the vast majority of the fleet was made up of support
vessels and small, auxiliary ships. -- Doug Clarke, Copyright(c)1995
Open Media Research Institute, Inc. All rights reserved.

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Victor Gomez

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