New OMRI Analytical Brief:
-  "Iranians and Foreign Fighters Continue
to Plague Bosnian
   Operation", by Michael Mihalka

Available only via the World Wide Web:
http://www.omri.cz/Publications/Analytical/Index.html

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

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^TODAY'S TOP STORY^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
RUSSIAN FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE ANNOYED WITH FBI. Tatyana Samolis,
spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), accused
the FBI of using "dirty tricks" to capture accused Soviet agent Robert
Lipka, Russian and Western agencies reported. Samolis criticized the FBI
for "recruiting under a foreign flag" by having its agents impersonate
Russians during their investigation of Lipka. She said such practices
violate unwritten "rules of honor" governing the post-Cold War
"partnership" between Russian and U.S. intelligence services. Meanwhile,
SVR spokesman Maj. Gen. Yurii Kobaladze warned that former Russian
intelligence agents can be prosecuted for revealing state secrets if
they publish memoirs that do not receive prior clearance. The FBI has
suggested that former KGB Maj.-Gen Oleg Kalugin's memoirs helped them
catch Lipka (see OMRI Daily Digest, 26 February 1996). -- Scott Parrish
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

RUSSIA

MORE "PATRIOTIC" MOVEMENTS BACK ZYUGANOV. Communist Party leader
Gennadii Zyuganov continues to attract support from movements on the
"patriotic" or nationalist wing of the political spectrum (see OMRI
Daily Digest, 12 February 1996). He was most recently endorsed by
Stanislav Terekhov's Union of Officers and Sergei Baburin's Russian
Public Union, Radio Rossii reported on 26 February. Before the
disappointing performance of the Congress of Russian Communities (KRO)
in the Duma elections, Aleksandr Lebed was considered the most likely
consensus candidate of Russia's patriotic movements. Lebed officially
announced his candidacy in January, but he has drawn few endorsements
beyond KRO activists. -- Laura Belin

DEMOCRATS STILL SEARCHING FOR COMMON GROUND. Although the leaders of 10
pro-reform movements, including Russia's Democratic Choice leader Yegor
Gaidar, Yabloko leader Grigorii Yavlinskii and Forward, Russia! leader
Boris Fedorov, signed a statement on 23 February opposing the "threat of
a new totalitarianism in Russia," Russia's "democratic camp" has yet to
agree on a common presidential candidate. Gaidar said his party will
endorse either President Boris Yeltsin or Yavlinskii, depending on
whether Yeltsin is able to end the war in Chechnya, Russian media
reported on 26 February. For his part, Yavlinskii told Komsomolskaya
pravda in an interview published on 27 February that a candidate backed
by all "noncommunist" forces in Russia could win 23% of the vote in the
first round of presidential elections and would have a good chance
against Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov in the second round. --
Robert Orttung and Laura Belin

FEDERAL TROOPS WITHDRAWN FROM INGUSHETIYA. In accordance with an
agreement between Ingush President Ruslan Aushev and 58th Army Commander
Nikolai Troshev, federal military units have been entirely withdrawn
from the territory of Ingushetiya, Russian media reported on 26
February. Army units and Interior Ministry troops entered the republic
on 21 February, sealing off two villages near the Ingush-Chechen border
and killing seven civilians (see OMRI Daily Digest, 26 February 1996).
Although the army commanders claim that the units were simply passing
through Ingu-shetiya en route to Chechnya, the Ingush authorities intend
to ask the Russian Constitutional Court and Procurator General's Office
to investigate the incident, Ekho Moskvy and NTV reported. -- Anna
Paretskaya

INCUMBENT MAYORS WIN RE-ELECTION. A series of regional elections in
Russia on 25 February were almost completely swept by the incumbent
heads of the local administrations. The current mayor of Kemerovo, five
out of the six incumbent heads of local administrations in Stavropol
Krai, and a majority of the current heads of the Yaroslavl Oblast local
executive were re-elected, Russian media reported. All of Russia's local
administration heads were appointed by President Boris Yeltsin in 1991,
except for those in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Elections also took place
in the Vologda and Yaroslavl regional and city legislative bodies, the
Kemerovo City Duma, and the local self-government bodies of several
towns in Krasnodar and Stavropol krais. In most places, the Communist
candidates received less votes than they had expected. One of the
exceptions was in Kemerovo, where the Communist-oriented Narodovlastie
movement headed by Kemerovo Governor Aman Tuleev won a majority in the
city legislature. -- Anna Paretskaya

RUSSIA CRITICIZES U.S. OVER CUBAN PLANE INCIDENT. Russian Foreign
Ministry spokesman Grigorii Karasin expressed "regret" on 26 February
over an incident in which a Cuban MiG-29 shot down two U.S. civilian
planes but withheld judgment on the Cuban action pending further
investigation, Russian and Western agencies reported. The U.S. has
strongly denounced the Cuban action, imposed retaliatory sanctions, and
requested that the UN Security Council condemn Cuba. Cuba claimed that
the planes, piloted by Cuban exiles, had entered Cuban airspace. Karasin
called on the U.S. to prevent further violations of Cuban airspace,
which he described as a "provocative factor." Russian ultranationalist
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, meanwhile, sent Cuban leader Fidel Castro a
message praising the action, which he called "a victory over the
American carrion crows." -- Scott Parrish

KINKEL SAYS ETHNIC GERMAN IMMIGRANTS STILL WELCOME. On 26 February,
German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel rejected calls by opposition Social
Democratic leader Oskar Lafontaine for restrictions on the immigration
of ethnic Germans from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union,
Western agencies reported. Kinkel said German policy is focused on
improving the living conditions of ethnic Germans in the region but
insisted that continued immigration is justified because they often face
discrimination. He accused Lafontaine of pandering to anti-immigrant
sentiment before three state elections scheduled for next month. Under
current German law, ethnic Germans are eligible for citizenship,
regardless of their place of birth. According to German officials, up to
4 million ethnic Germans lived in Eastern Europe and the former USSR.
Around 2 million have emigrated to Germany since 1989. Last year,
218,000 arrived in Germany, compared with 223,000 in 1994. -- Scott
Parrish

NEW NUCLEAR WASTE PLANT FOR PACIFIC FLEET. A commercial plant to dispose
of liquid radioactive waste (LRW) has been assembled in the Far East and
is scheduled to go into operation in the next two days, ITAR-TASS
reported on 26 February. Russian- designed, the plant is said to surpass
all known LRW technologies. One of its developers, Academician Valentin
Sergiyenko, told the agency that the LRW disposal problem in the Far
East is now "practically solved." The plant relies on a sorption
purification method rather than the conventional evaporation method.
Sergiyenko said it could purify 100 liters of waste per hour and within
a year should purify some 1,500 metric tons of waste, meeting the
requirements of the Pacific Fleet. A smaller pilot-plant has been in
operation for about 18 months. -- Doug Clarke

FIRE ENGULFS MOSCOW TIRE FACTORY. Seven people, including two
firefighters, were injured in a fire at a tire plant in southeastern
Moscow on 25-26 February, Russian and Western agencies reported. Another
firefighter is missing and believed dead. Komsomolskaya pravda described
the blaze as the biggest in the Russian capital since the fire at the
Hotel Rossiya in 1977. On 21 February, Gosgortekhnadzor, the agency
responsible for monitoring safety at mines and industrial plants, said
609 people, including 221 coal miners, died in industrial accidents in
1995. According to the Labor Ministry, about 300,000 people suffered as
a result of workplace accidents in Russia in 1995. The ministry said 124
enterprises were shut down last year following state inspections, ITAR-
TASS reported. -- Penny Morvant

DETAILS OF PLAN TO LIFT OIL EXPORT DUTIES. The government has released
details of the commitment it made to the IMF to remove export duties on
oil, ITAR-TASS reported on 26 February. From 1 April export duty will be
cut from 20 to 10 ECU per metric ton, and abolished from 1 July, causing
an 8 trillion ruble ($1.7 billion) loss to the budget. To compensate,
excise duty (paid on all oil sales, including those inside Russia) will
be raised from the current 39,000 rubles ($8) per metric ton to 55,000
on 1 April and 70,000 on 1 July. Minster of Fuel and Energy Yurii
Shafranik told a press conference that he opposes these measures,
fearing that they will harm energy consumers. He also complained that he
was not allowed to meet with the IMF delegation last week. In an
interview with ITAR-TASS, Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin himself
said that he is "not an advocate of foreign loans, which must be repaid
with interest." -- Peter Rutland

FOREIGNERS ENTER TREASURY BOND MARKET. For the first time, foreigners
have been allowed to buy GKOs. In auctions on 7 and 21 February, non-
residents bought $420 million of bonds, 35% of those on offer,
Kommersant Daily reported on 24 February. On 26 February, foreigners
bought 1.9 trillion of the 10 trillion rubles ($2.1 billion) sold.
However, the Central Bank has now changed the rules, since it realized
that foreign buyers could make an annual return of 50-60%. Foreigners
must now buy the bonds through a subsidiary of the Paris-based Eurobank,
using a special exchange rate, which will limit their return to a
maximum of 25%. -- Peter Rutland

CHICKEN WAR ON HORIZON. The Russian government has announced that it
will halt U.S. poultry imports after 16 March, unless U.S. exporters
prove that their products are disease- and additive-free, ITAR-TASS
reported on 22 February. After an inspection of U.S. processing plants
in January, Russian specialists claimed that U.S. poultry is
contaminated with dangerous residues and salmonella. U.S. officials
protested the Russian declaration. In 1995, Russia spent $13.3 billion
on food imports, which accounted for more than 40% of the food supply.
U.S. poultry exports to Russia rocketed from $79 million to $500 million
in just three years, making Russia the largest export market for poultry
in 1995. -- Natalia Gurushina

TRANSCAUCASIA AND CENTRAL ASIA

AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT DE-PUTY MURDERED. Ali Ansukh-skii, an ethnic Avar
from Azerbaijan's Belokany Raion, died in hospital in Baku on 26
February shortly after being shot three times in the street by an
unknown assailant, Turan reported. A prominent businessman, Ansukhskii
was elected to parliament in 1990 and 1995 as an independent deputy.
Meanwhile, in Armenia parliamentary deputy Boris Mkhitaryan was shot in
the head on 21 February while traveling to attend a funeral in Vanadzor,
according to Noyan Tapan. -- Liz Fuller

DEMONSTRATIONS IN TSKHIN-VALI. Peacekeepers in Tskhinvali, capital of
the Georgian autonomous formation of South Ossetiya, have been placed on
alert following demonstrations calling for the resignation of the
regional government, Iprinda reported on 26 February. The leadership of
South Ossetiya aspires to unification with North Ossetiya in the Russian
Federation. An emergency session of South Ossetiya's State Council ruled
that its chairman, Ludwig Chibirov, should continue to occupy that post
"temporarily," but relieved Deputy Chairman Atsamaz Kibisov of his post
for embezzling funds allocated to the region's budget by Russia.
Demonstrations began earlier this month to protest the alleged
misappropriation of humanitarian aid by members of the regional
government. -- Liz Fuller

TAJIK CEASEFIRE EXTENDED. In an eleventh hour move, the Tajik government
and opposition have agreed to a three-month extension of the ceasefire
agreement that expired on 26 February, Western agencies reported. The
opposition is reportedly ready to compromise on the issue of prisoner
exchanges, one of their preconditions for an extension, but it will not
drop the demand that all forces in Tajikistan remain in their present
positions. Observers had feared that the 24 February kidnapping of an
opposition representative to the UN mission in Dushanbe, Zafar
Rakhmonov, would derail negotiations. Authorities have been unable to
find Rakhmonov or his captors. -- Bruce Pannier

KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT RESIGNS. Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev accepted the
resignation of the government on 26 February, Reuters reported. However,
the present government will remain at work in a caretaker role until a
new government has been selected. The move follows the 10 February
referendum in which citizens voted to accept amendments to the Kyrgyz
constitution that concentrate more power in the hands of the president.
Under the amendments, Akayev no longer needs parliamentary approval for
cabinet appointments, except for the post of prime minister. In the case
of the latter post, the revisions give the president the authority to
dissolve parliament if it rejects his candidate for prime minister three
times. Akayev has already mentioned he intends to keep Apas Jumagulov as
prime minister. -- Bruce Pannier

KAZAKHSTANI-U.S. MILITARY COOPERATION. Kazakhstani Defense Minister Lt.
Gen. Alibek Kasymov and U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry signed a
"Joint Statement of Future U.S.-Kazakhstani Defense and Military
Relations" during Kasymov's current visit to the U.S.. Perry told a 26
February Pentagon press conference that the agreement called for regular
meetings between senior military officers of the two countries and a
schedule of military contacts, including an exchange program between the
Arizona National Guard and the Kazakhstani Armed Forces. -- Doug Clarke
[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Victor Gomez

The OMRI Daily Digest offers the latest news from the former Soviet
Union and Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It is published
Monday through Friday by the Open Media Research Institute.  The OMRI
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Please note that there is a new procedure for obtaining permission to
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of the new policy or look at this URL:
http://www.omri.cz/Publications/Digests/DigestReprint.html

OMRI also publishes the biweekly journal Transition, which contains
expanded analysis of many of the topics in the Daily Digest. For
Transition subscription information send an e-mail to TRANSITION@OMRI.CZ

              Copyright (c) 1996 Open Media Research Institute, Inc.
                       All rights reserved. ISSN 1211-1570
 
         
     


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