RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 2, No. 42, Part I, 3 March 1998

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 2, No. 42, Part I, 3 March 1998

A daily report of developments in Eastern and Southeastern Europe, Russia,
the Caucasus and Central Asia prepared by the staff of Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty.

This is Part I, a compilation of news concerning Russia, Transcaucasia and
Central Asia. Part II covers Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and
is distributed simultaneously as a second document.  Back issues of RFE/RL
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http://www.rferl.org/newsline

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RFE/RL CAUCASUS REPORT: A WEEKLY REVIEW OF POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE
NORTH CAUCASUS AND TRANSCAUCASIA FROM RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY
This new email weekly covers Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia's
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Headlines, Part I

* CABINET RESHUFFLE CLAIMS ANOTHER VICTIM

* KOKOSHIN REPLACES RYBKIN ON SECURITY COUNCIL

* RUSSIA MAY WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM GEORGIA

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RUSSIA

CABINET RESHUFFLE CLAIMS ANOTHER VICTIM. President Boris Yeltsin on 2 March
dismissed Atomic Energy Minister Viktor Mikhailov, one of the
longest-serving cabinet members, RFE/RL's Moscow bureau reported. Mikhailov
had not been considered a likely candidate for dismissal. Prime Minister
Viktor Chernomyrdin said Mikhailov resigned from the government in order to
focus on scientific research, adding that the president thanked him for the
work of his ministry during his tenure, Interfax reported. Mikhailov had
headed the Atomic Energy Ministry since March 1992. Commenting on the
recent cabinet dismissals (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 March 1998),
Chernomyrdin said "the government's current policy is not being changed and
will not be changed," but he noted that there will be changes in "the
methods and approaches used" by the heads of some ministries. Yeltsin
downplayed the significance of the reshuffle, adding that "ministers come,
ministers go," ITAR-TASS reported. LB

DID MIKHAILOV JUMP OR WAS HE PUSHED? A Russian commentator interviewed by
RFE/RL on 2 March suggested, however, that Mikhailov may have been under
pressure to resign, noting that his ministry was not informed in advance of
his resignation. Andrei Piontkovskii said that Mikhailov, who began his
career at Arzamas-16 under the late Andrei Sakharov, had implemented "his
own personal policy," particularly toward sales of nuclear technology to
Iran, and regarded himself as a "hawk" defending Russia's dwindling
super-power status. But Piontkovsii concluded that the decision to replace
Mikhailov as minister was probably not dictated by foreign-policy
considerations; rather, it is likely to have stemmed either from
disagreements within the ministry over uranium sales to the U.S. or from
personal tensions between Mikhailov and Prime Minister Chernomyrdin. First
Deputy Premier Boris Nemtsov has consistently criticized Mikhailov's
ministry for failing to pay wage arrears to its employees, according to
"Kommersant-Daily" on 3 March. LF

CHECHEN RESPONSE TO RYBKIN'S APPOINTMENT. Chechen Foreign Minister Movladi
Udugov told ITAR-TASS on 2 March that it is "immaterial' who succeeds Ivan
Rybkin as secretary of the Russian Security Council. Udugov said that
Rybkin's appointment as Russian deputy prime minister for CIS affairs will
expedite the establishment of Chechen-Russian ties and the recognition of
Chechen independence, according to Interfax. He noted that Rybkin retains
his post as head of the commission to negotiate the terms of a
Russian-Chechen treaty. One of the Chechen members of that commission,
Khozh-Akhmed Yarikhanov,  praised Rybkin's contribution to economic
reconstruction in Chechnya, to the repatriation of prisoners of war, and to
ensuring the "signing of basic documents." Rybkin told journalists that he
will have to pass on to his successor an "enormous amount of information"
on Chechnya. LF

KOKOSHIN REPLACES RYBKIN ON SECURITY COUNCIL. Yeltsin on 3 March appointed
Defense Council Secretary and Chief Military Inspector Andrei Kokoshin as
secretary of the Security Council, RFE/RL's Moscow bureau reported.
According to presidential spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembskii, the Defense
Council has been abolished. Its personnel, along with that of the State
Military Inspectorate, has been incorporated into the Security Council.
Kokoshin, a civilian, was first deputy defense minister before being
appointed to head the Defense Council and the newly created military
inspectorate last August. The abolition of the Defense Council is unlikely
to have a major impact, since most of its members are also on the Security
Council. When Yeltsin created the Defense Council in July 1996, that body
was widely seen as a counterweight to Aleksandr Lebed, who had been
appointed Security Council secretary the previous month. LB

REACTION TO OTHER CABINET CHANGES. According to the 3 March issue of "Novye
izvestiya," Education Minister Vladimir Kinelev was fired because of the
total failure of education reform plans, which, the newspaper said, were
drafted by top officials without sufficient input from teachers. "Novye
izvestiya" also argued that Aleksandr Tikhonov, Kinelev's replacement, will
represent the government's interests rather than standing up for those of
the education sector in the government. "Rossiiskie vesti" suggested on 3
March that First Deputy Prime Minister Nemtsov instigated the decision to
sack Transportation Minister Nikolai Tsakh. The newspaper said Tsakh had
been a vocal critic of the Railroad Ministry, which is one of the
ministries under Nemtsov's supervision. Meanwhile, Russian news agencies
reported on 2 March that Sergei Frank, until now first deputy
transportation minister, will replace Tsakh. Earlier the same day,
Yastrzhembskii had said Yeltsin appointed Yurii Mikhailov to that post. LB

OPPOSITION FORMS 'SHADOW CABINET.' Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov
says the "popular-patriotic forces" have formed a "shadow cabinet" whose
members are to be announced soon, ITAR-TASS reported on 2 March. Speaking
to journalists in Orenburg Oblast, where he is campaigning on behalf of
opposition candidates in upcoming legislative elections, Zyuganov said
participants in a nationwide protest planned for 9 April will demand the
creation of a "government of people's trust or national unity." Zyuganov is
also the head of the Popular-Patriotic Union of Russia, a Communist-led
umbrella movement formed out of organizations that supported his 1996
presidential bid. LB

CHUBAIS, NEMTSOV LOSE BODYGUARDS. Presidential spokesman Yastrzhembskii
announced on 2 March that Yeltsin has signed a decree revoking the right of
12 high-ranking officials to have state-funded personal bodyguards, Russian
news agencies reported. The decree affects First Deputy Prime Ministers
Anatolii Chubais and Nemtsov, deputy prime ministers, and Yurii Yarov, the
first deputy head of the presidential administration. According to
"Kommersant-Daily" on 3 March, those officials will retain bodyguards when
they are outside Moscow. Although Yastrzhembskii described the decree as a
cost-cutting measure, "Kommersant-Daily" said the saving will be minimal
and that the decree is more likely a political move against Chubais and
Nemtsov. Last December, Yeltsin signed a decree requiring first deputy
prime ministers to use commercial airlines for official travel. Special
government planes are now used only by six top officials (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 12 December 1997). LB

PROSECUTOR-GENERAL LESS OPTIMISTIC ABOUT LISTEV CASE. Yurii Skuratov on 2
March told journalists not to expect the March 1995 murder of television
journalist Vladislav Listev to be solved soon, ITAR-TASS reported. Skuratov
acknowledged that progress has been made in the investigation but cautioned
against drawing "analogies" between Listev's murder and the October 1994
killing of journalist Dmitrii Kholodov. Two suspects have been charged in
the Kholodov case. On 28 February, ITAR-TASS quoted Skuratov as predicting
that the Listev case would soon be solved. Petr Triboi, the chief
investigator in the case, told "Izvestiya" on 27 February that he has
received death threats. He also charged that some close colleagues of
Listev have sought to hinder his investigation, but he singled out former
Security Council Deputy Secretary Boris Berezovskii as having been
particularly cooperative (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 27 February and 2 March
1998). LB

ELECTORAL COMMISSION WANTS STRICTER REGULATIONS... Central Electoral
Commission Chairman Aleksandr Ivanchenko says his commission wants the
parliament to amend the law on parliamentary elections to toughen the
regulations on submitting signatures for registration and to raise the
minimum turnout requirement. In an interview with RFE/RL's Moscow bureau on
26 February, Ivanchenko expressed the hope that the law will prevent
electoral blocs and individual candidates from submitting a total  number
of signatures that exceeds the required amount by more than 10 percent. (In
the past, candidates and blocs have often submitted far more signatures
than they need in case a large number of signatures are invalidated by the
electoral commission.) Ivanchenko also advocated a 50 percent minimum
turnout for elections to the State Duma, although he said he supports
retaining the current 25 percent minimum for by-elections for Duma seats. LB

...TAKES NO STAND ON ABOLISHING PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION. In the same
interview with RFE/RL's Moscow bureau, Ivanchenko said the Central
Electoral Commission has no preference on whether the Duma should be
elected entirely in single-member districts or by means of a mixed system
involving proportional representation, as under the current law. He said he
is against calling a nationwide referendum on changing the electoral law,
which some presidential advisers have proposed (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 23
January 1998). Ivanchenko noted that holding a referendum would be very
expensive. Commenting on proposals to change the law to require runoffs in
single-member districts if no candidate gained more than 50 percent of the
vote in the first round, Ivanchenko said such a move would raise the costs
of conducting the elections by 25 percent at most. LB

YELTSIN APPROVES BURIAL PLANS FOR LAST TSAR. Yeltsin on 2 March approved
plans to bury Nicholas II and his family in St. Petersburg on 17 July,
Russian news agencies reported. The government unanimously supported those
plans at a 27 February cabinet meeting (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 March
1998). LB

DUMA HEARS REPORTS ON DRUG USE. The Duma on 2 March heard reports on the
growing problems related to drug use in the country. Nikolai Gerasimenko,
the chairman of the Duma's Health Committee, said there are now more than 2
million regular drug users in Russia; 4 million people have experimented
with narcotics, while some 400,000 are addicts. Gerasimenko said he expects
those figures to double by  2000. Deputy Interior Minister Vladimir
Kolesnikov, the deputy chairman of the government commission on drug abuse
and sales, said there were 185,000 drug-related crimes in Russia last year,
a 91 percent increase over 1996. The largest increases were among young
adults, minors, and women. Gennadii Onishchenko, the chief state sanitary
physician, said the growth in the use of drugs  is contributing to an
increase in HIV cases. He noted that of the 4,300 people registered as HIV
positive, more than 90 percent are drug addicts. BP

LEBED SUBMITS SIGNATURES IN KRASNOYARSK. Former Security Council Secretary
Aleksandr Lebed on 3 March handed over to the Krasnoyarsk Krai Electoral
Commission registration documents, including petitions with 23,000
signatures supporting his candidacy for governor, ITAR-TASS reported. State
Duma deputy Petr Romanov, the Communist-backed candidate and former
director of a factory in the krai, submitted his signature lists on 2
March. Lebed is considered the main rival to incumbent Governor Valerii
Zubov, but Romanov could become a kingmaker if he finishes a strong third
in the first round of the election on 26 April. "Russkii telegraf" reported
on 28 February that incumbent Governor Valerii Zubov is conducting
negotiations with local Communists, who fared well in legislative elections
in the krai last December (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 and 23 December 1997).
The newspaper argued that if Zubov can reach an agreement with the
Communists, who are sharp opponents of Lebed, the incumbent's chances will
improve dramatically. LB

TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

RUSSIA MAY WITHDRAW TROOPS FROM GEORGIA. Russian Defense Minister Igor
Sergeev told journalists on 2 March that Russia is ready to consider
withdrawing its troops from Georgia if there is a consensus that its
military bases there are no longer needed, Russian agencies reported. Since
1993, the Georgian opposition has opposed Russia's military presence in
Georgia. Last week, Tbilisi  requested that Sergeev postpone his visit
scheduled for 27-28 February until after the19-20 March CIS summit. A new
agreement on the status of the three Russian military bases in Georgia was
to have been signed during that visit. LF

ARMENIAN PREMIER PLEDGES ELECTION TRANSPARENCY. Robert Kocharyan has once
again pledged that the Armenian authorities will take all possible measures
to ensure that the 16 March presidential poll is free and fair, RFE/RL's
Yerevan bureau reported. Kocharyan made that pledge at meetings with U.S.
Assistant Under Secretary of State Stephen Coffey in Yerevan on 1 March and
with the heads of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's
election monitoring mission staff the following day. Kocharyan also said he
has reached agreement with rival candidate Vazgen Manukyan that candidates'
proxies will be empowered to monitor voting by military personnel. Interior
and National Security Minister Serzh Sarkisyan said on 2 March that police
will strictly abide by the regulation prohibiting their presence at
electoral precincts. By the 1 March deadline, 12 candidates had submitted
to the Central Electoral Commission the documentation and minimum 25,000
signatures necessary to run in the election, Noyan Tapan reported. LF

AZERBAIJANI PROSECUTOR-GENERAL ON EXTRADITIONS FROM RUSSIA. In an interview
published in "Trud" on 28 February, Azerbaijani Prosecutor-GeneralEldar
Hasanov argued that the extradition from Russia of a number of prominent
political figures to stand trial on charges of terrorism or treason is in
accordance with a Russian-Azerbaijani agreement concluded in 1992 and the
subsequent Minsk Convention signed by CIS states. Hasanov rejected Russian
press allegations that Azerbaijanis are extradited to Baku because of their
political beliefs. He also denied that he has ever received a request from
President Heidar Aliev to demand the extradition of one of Aliev's
political opponents. But a recent bulletin released by the Human Rights
Center of Azerbaijan cites several cases in which Azerbaijani political
refugees in Ukraine have been detained and mistreated before their
extradition to Azerbaijan, where they were tried and sentenced. LF

TURKEY, CASPIAN LITTORAL STATES DISCUSS EXPORT PIPELINE. Meeting in
Istanbul on 1-2 March, the foreign ministers of Turkey, Georgia,
Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan expressed varying degrees of
support for the construction of the Baku-Ceyhan export pipeline for Caspian
oil. They failed, however, to make a definite commitment to that project.
At the same time, they stressed they are committed to  multiple oil and gas
pipelines in order to transport Caspian hydrocarbon resources to the West.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem suggested that Russian and U.S.
representatives be invited to future meetings to discuss the Baku-Ceyhan
project, the "Turkish Daily News" reported on 2 March. Russian Foreign
Minister Yevgenii Primakov was not invited to the Istanbul talks.  A
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman told Caucasus Press on 2 March that the
proposed northern pipeline from Baku to Novorossiisk is "more rational and
economical" than the Baku-Ceyhan option. LF

GEORGIAN PIPELINE AGREEMENT SIGNED. Chevron Overseas, Britain's Caspian
Trans Company, and the Georgian state oil company signed an agreement in
Tbilisi on 2 March on the reconstruction of two sections of the export
pipeline to transport Azerbaijani Caspian oil to Georgia's Black Sea coast.
Work on the Khashuri-Batumi section will begin within four months, and that
section will be linked to the Ali-Bayramli-Khashuri pipeline by mid-1999.
The annual throughput capacity of the Ali-Bayramli-Batumi pipeline will be
7.5-8 million metric tons, according to Chevron President Richard Matzke.
The pipeline will transport not only Azerbaijani crude but some Kazakh oil
from the Tengiz field that Chevron is developing together with Mobil and
Kazakh and Russian oil companies. More than 1  million metric tons of
Tengiz oil have been exported by tanker to Baku and then by rail through
Georgia since 1997. LF

KYRGYZSTAN'S INDEPENDENT MEDIA COMPLAINS OF DISCRIMINATION. The Kyrgyz
Association of Independent Electronic Mass Media has sent a letter to the
cabinet complaining of "discriminatory actions of government structures
against non-government mass media." RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, who has
obtained a copy of the letter, said the association singles out the
difficulties experienced by Mezon TV in acquiring a license to broadcast in
1997, the shutdown of Radio Almaz on 23 February, and the temporary closure
of the television and radio station VOSST one week earlier. The association
notes a "serious violation of Article 8 of the law on mass media" in the
case of both Radio Almaz and VOSST, whose closure was ordered by the
National Agency on Communications. Under the mass media law, a broadcasting
station can be closed down only in accordance with a decision by the
station's management or the courts. BP

KAZAKH PRESIDENT MEETS WITH FOREIGN INVESTORS. Nursultan Nazarbayev,
meeting with foreign investors and government officials in Almaty on 2
March, said the cabinet will continue to give "support and help...necessary
[for foreign investors] to work successfully" in Kazakhstan, ITAR-TASS and
Reuters reported. However, Nazarbayev warned investors they are subject to
Kazakh laws on taxation and should not over-report costs to keep down
reported profits. After listening to reports by foreign investors,
Nazarbayev heavily criticized some members of the government. The president
asked one minister why it takes some four months to issue investors with
licenses. He added that, "As of today, I am relieving your ministry of
responsibility for licensing." BP

TURKMENISTAN TO TRIPLE GAS EXPORTS TO IRAN IN 1999. Turkmen President
Saparmurat Niyazov has said the country's gas industry must be ready to
export 12 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Iran via the
Korpedzhe-Kurdkui pipeline in 1999, Interfax reported on 2 March. This
year, Turkmenistan plans to export 4 billion cubic meters, of which 35
percent will be in payment for the construction by Iran of the pipeline.
Tehran is to pay $40 per 1,000 cubic meters for the remainder of the gas.
During his visit to Turkmenistan in January, Russian Prime Minister
Chernomyrdin offered to pay $36 per 1,000 cubic meters, but Russia would
re-export the gas to third countries at a far higher price. BP

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