July 29, 1999   
This Date's Issues: 3412 • 3413  • 

Johnson's Russia List
#3413
29 July 1999
davidjohnson@erols.com

[Note from David Johnson:
1. Reuters: Nearly 100,000 Russian officers without apartments.
2. Itar-Tass: Stepashin: We Must Find Ways to Support National Culture.
3. Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Scientists, Russia’s Hundred Billion Dollar 
Present to the World.
4. Reuters: Fuel shortages threaten Russian harvest.
5. CPSS new book: NATO AT FIFTY: Perspectives on the Future of the Atlantic 
Alliance.
6. AmCham Newsletter: Scott Blacklin, The Regions and Russian Political 
Evolution.
7. Moskovskiy Komsomolets: Prominent Russian Figures Run for Duma.
8. Moscow Times: Andrei Piontkovsky, Primakov and Luzhkov: Now In One 
Bottle.
9. Moskovskiy Komsomolets: Primakov Seen Hinting at Alliance With Luzhkov.
10. Sovetskaya Rossiya: Pobeda Patriotic Bloc To Be Set Up.
11. Itar-Tass: Prosecutors Say No Claims to LUZHKOV'S Wife.
12. The Electronic Telegraph (UK): Marcus Warren, Belarus and Russia 
to tie the knot.
13. AP: Russia Hopes Loan Boosts Economy.
14. USIA: Transcript: Gore, Stepashin Joint Statement on U.S.-Russia 
Commission.] 

******

#1
Nearly 100,000 Russian officers without apartments
By Adam Tanner

MOSCOW, July 29 (Reuters) - Nearly 100,000 Russian officers do not have
their own apartments, the deputy defence minister said on Thursday, a
problem that has badly damaged morale in recent years. 

``We have 97,000 officers without apartments,'' said Alexander Kosovan, a
deputy minister who oversees military construction and logistics. 

``They live in service housing, in family dormitories, some in private
apartments,'' he told a news conference. ``No one is living on the street.'' 

Many of these facilities are ageing and cramped, with some piling up in
barracks or even old warships to live. 

``Conditions here are not exactly great,'' one officer reached at a
dormitory facility on the outskirts of Moscow said on Thursday. ``There is
only one toilet per floor, and 40 people live on each floor.'' 

He said he had lived in the same dorm room with his wife for the past three
years but still had no immediate prospect of getting anything more
comfortable. 

One colonel with many years of experience in the military space forces
living in same dormitory uses his car as a taxi in off-duty hours to make
ends meet. 

Housing problems are a central issue that has led to growing discontent
among the Russian armed forces. An April poll of 1,000 officers in the
official military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda found only 52 percent wanted to
remain in the service. 

The study found that officers waited an average of six to seven years
before getting their own apartment, but cited the example of one man who
lived in military garrisons for 23 years before getting a place of his own. 

In 1998 Russian President Boris Yeltsin initiated a programme of subsidised
housing for officers, but only a small percentage of those in need get the
benefit in any given year, Kosovan said. 

``Last year 10,000 (subsidy) certificates were distributed in May and
June,'' Kosovan said. ``This year as of today we have given out 8,000
certificates.'' 

Most officers instead qualify for housing built by the military. 

``Last year the construction division built 16,000 apartments and this year
25,000 apartments are planned as financing has grown 50 percent compared
with last year,'' Kosovan said. 

``If we succeed in this goal, then the severity of the problem, any growth
in the number, won't happen and gradually there will be a fall.'' 

Ironically, the military does have a stock of unused housing in remote
areas abandoned as the government has reduced the size of the military
since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. 

``In the process of reforming the military in Russia more than 1,500
military towns have been abandoned,'' Kosovan said. ``Only 10 percents have
been or are planned to be sold.'' 

``The others are located on the shores of the north Arctic, inside the
taiga, in the Far East, places that no one would take even for free.'' 

*******

#2
Stepashin: We Must Find Ways to Support National Culture.

MOSCOW, July 29 (Itar-Tass) - Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin said at a
government meeting on Thursday, summing up the results of the discussion of
the problem of building and repair of cultural monuments, which are on the
list of especially valuable objects of cultural heritage of Russia: "We
should find non- traditional ways of supporting national culture." 

He stressed that problems connected with the support for national culture
and the growth of allocations for that purpose should be regarded as
priority ones. They will be discussed in August, when the cabinet starts
the discussion of the medium-term economic programme of the government for
the coming two years. 

Stepashin said that it was necessary to look for new ways of financing the
repair of especially valuable cultural facilities. Speaking about the
National Library (previously called the Lenin Library), he said: "We should
work jointly with Moscow and discuss the matter with Moscow Mayor Yuri
Luzhkov. It is high time we stop investing heavily in the construction of
hotels and trade centres. So far as the Moskva cruiser is concerned, the
government can handle the problem by itself." 

It was stated at the government meeting that one billion roubles was needed
today for the repair of especially valuable cultural monuments, while
planned allocations for the purpose amount only to 108 million roubles. 

*******

#3
Russia Today press summaries
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
28 July 1999
Scientists, Russia’s Hundred Billion Dollar Present to the World
THE BEST BRAINS OF RUSSIA ARE SEEKING ABROAD WHAT THEY USED TO HAVE IN THE
USSR
Summary
The daily commented on the problem of brain-drain from Russia. The
statistics of researchers' resigning from the Siberian division of the
Russian Academy of Sciences alone is striking. In 1998, 668 researchers (63
with a “doktorskaya” degree and 321 with a “candidatskaya” degree) left
their profession, equaling figures from the previous three years combined. 

While only five to ten percent of scientists have found work in their field
abroad, the remainder have been forced by economic hardship and low quality
of life to seek employment in business, banking or other trades. Further,
the prestige of the academic profession has decreased significantly. In
Soviet times, funding Novosibirsk’s Akadyem Gorodok was more than suff-
ficient. The government threw money at the scientists in Siberia. 

77 percent of Novosibirsk high school students who specialize in physics
and math ( the majority of whom previously would attend Novosibirsk
University), would like to go abroad after they graduate, and only four
percent of talented students are opposed to emigration. 

******

#4
Fuel shortages threaten Russian harvest
By Sebastian Alison

MOSCOW, July 29 (Reuters) - Russia's harvest, in full swing in the central 
grain belt, faces a potential crisis because of fuel shortages, but Prime 
Minister Sergei Stepashin on Thursday ruled out raising crude oil export 
tariffs. 

Russian television showed farmers in the Samara region on the Volga in 
southern Russia saying they had enough fuel to carry on harvesting for three 
days, after which they would be forced to stop work. 

They said they were in the middle of their best harvest in years, with yields 
of four tonnes per hectare. 

Stepashin met President Boris Yeltsin on Thursday, and Interfax news agency 
reported that they discussed the situation on the fuel market, especially 
gasoline, as well as the progress of the harvest. 

"I, as Prime Minister, do not intend to raise export tariffs," he was quoted 
as saying after a subsequent meeting with the heads of some of Russia's 
largest oil companies. 

A government resolution signed by Stepashin, leaving export tariffs unchanged 
at a base rate of five euros per tonne, was published in Russia's official 
gazette earlier this week. 

Domestic gasoline prices have been rising sharply in recent weeks and 
supplies have all but run out in many parts of the country, with long queues 
forming. 

But it was unclear if this was because Russia was exporting as much fuel as 
possible at the expense of domestic consumers to take advantage of rising 
international prices or the result of failures in distribution during the 
peak harvest demand period. 

Fuel and energy minister Viktor Kalyuzhny was due to hold a news briefing at 
1100 GMT. But Stepashin also said Kalyuzhny would fly to the southern 
Krasnodar region on Thursday to assess the fuel situation. 

Russian media also reported that he would be flying on Thursday to the Far 
Eastern island of Sakhalin, where a major international oil production 
project is starting up, leaving his exact movements unclear. 

On Thursday morning the agriculture ministry abruptly called off a scheduled 
news briefing which Agriculture Minister Vladimir Shcherbak was due to 
attend, without explanation. 

After meeting Yeltsin, Stepashin repeated his assurances that Russia would 
harvest 60 million tonnes of grain this year, the same forecast that the 
agriculture ministry has been making for around a month. 

This forecast has been cut from an earlier estimate of 70 million tonnes 
following prolonged drought in much of Russia for most of June and July, and 
because of destruction caused by swarms of locusts across Siberia and parts 
of European Russia. 

Even if Russia were to collect 60 million tonnes of grain, this would still 
be the second lowest harvest since the break up of the Soviet Union at the 
end of 1991. 

Only last year's 47.8 million tonne harvest, the worst in over 40 years, has 
been lower. As a result, Russia has virtually exhausted its grain stocks and 
is reliant on food aid supplied by the United States and the European Union. 

*******

#5
Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999
From: CPSS <mail@cpss.org>
Subject: New book: NATO AT FIFTY

The Center for Political and Strategic Studies 
is pleased to announce the release of

NATO AT FIFTY: 
Perspectives on the Future of the Atlantic Alliance

In an effort to promote debate and understanding of the
key issues that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization will
face in the 21st century, the Center for Political and Strategic
Studies has brought together a wide range of opinion and
analysis from thirty esteemed U.S. and European experts in
government, military, and academia. Contributors include
Secretary William Perry, General Andrew Goodpaster, Dr.
Zbigniew Brzezinski, Ambassador Robert Ellsworth, and
General Sir Hugh Beach among many others.

NATO AT FIFTY addresses such issues as:

- NATO's new strategic concept
- The future of NATO enlargement
- The impact of expansion on NATO-Russian relations
- NATO's nuclear policy
- Evolving U.S.-European and U.S.-EU relations

To order a copy of NATO AT FIFTY, please complete the
form below and fax it to the Center (202-463-6269) or
respond by email to mail@cpss.org

Name:_________________________________________ 
Organization:_________________________________ 
Address:______________________________________ 
______________________________________________
Phone:________________________
Fax: ______________________
E-mail:_______________________
Copies requested:_______ at $20 per copy

The Center for Political and Strategic Studies
1050 17th Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20036 USA
T: 202-776-0651, F: 202-463-6269, http://www.cpss.org

*******

#6
American Chamber of Commerce in Russia
AmCham Newsletter 
July-August 1999
The Regions and Russian Political Evolution 
President's Report Scott Blacklin, President 

Russia's struggle with its size is not a new phenomenon. Any country can
have regional issues, even those with much smaller territory to administer.
When nations reach the physical scale that Russia has in the last 500
years, regionalism is inescapable. The fact that regionalism continues to
plague Russia since the time of Ivan III speaks to other aspects of the
Russian experience than the country's sheer size. Russia's variant of
regionalism evidences the great unsolved problem of Russian state
development - the failure to achieve a cooperative and integrated society.
No society can become cooperative if the powerful of the country do not
believe they have to account for themselves or follow rules. 

Absent today from Russian political culture are: the rule of law;
elimination of corruption; organizational transparency; civilized methods
of conflict resolution; and, recognition of social and individual rights
independent of, or in opposition to, state prerogatives. The common thread
amongst these desirable goals is power and how it is used. The questions
of effective use of power, economic as well as political, also have a
geographical dimension. Today's Russia is the type of society that evolves
when none of the positive elements above regulate the behavior of the
political class. The resulting political culture affects every aspect of
the relationships between the center and the regions. 

Russian regionalism is shaped by its history. From Russia's earliest days,
the Russian state was a tribute-collecting, and sometimes paying, entity.
The Vikings' core activity in Russia, as elsewhere, was to prey on flows of
goods and money, and their adoption of the more advanced Byzantine state
model merely intensified their capacity to expropriate wealth. In the
later Tartar and Moscow relationship, tribute gathering practices (and
related political practice) continued to play a vital role and was key in
Moscow's rise over competing Russian principalities. 

In imperial times, Moscow and St. Petersburg's relationship with the
regions followed the classic top down pressure, so typical of tribute
collecting societies, to drain wealth from the lower classes to the ruling
classes. As serfdom was ending in the West by 1500, the rising Russian
imperial state extended its control by turning over state functions to the
landed class, giving them virtual ownership over expanding imperial domains
and the people on them. The landed classes generated wealth through
downward pressure on the lower classes rather than through investments in
commercial or other economic activities. Private property, personal
freedom and direct contact with the state, for taxation or justice, were
lost to the Russian serf. The Bolshevik experiment, though also an
expropriating structure, managed to inject considerable human and capital
resources into the regions. Though many Soviet-era investments lacked
economic sense, local structures were created that nominally guaranteed a
voice for the regions. 

Russian history has therefore bequeathed the regions a tradition of
exploitative product and capital flows out of the regions toward the center
(or to export markets controlled by the center), yielding local economies
largely functioning on a barter basis and largely self-sufficient (though
at a low level); striking isolation and alienation from anything emanating
from Moscow, and; localism, sometimes bordering on separatism. 

In the final analysis, the nature and patterns of the center/region
relationship in Russia have been exploitative, fostering an atmosphere of
considerable cynicism and hostility. However, in late 20th century Russia
countervailing new positive elements in the center/region dynamic may
portend great change, including: 

* the effects of the information revolution - the immediate dissemination
of information, real-time dialogue, interactions with world culture through
television and so on. There is an increased level of internet-based
entrepreneurial activity, which though modest, is significant in its
geographic breadth; 

* the constitutionally enshrined role of the regions through the Federation
Council; 

* the increasing importance of new regional associations that have grown
dramatically in the last few years, recently confirmed by their inclusion
in the Presidium of the federal government; 

* foreign investments directly into the regions. 

While still statistically minuscule, there are "oasis" regions where the
local administration welcomes and nurtures foreign investment. In most
cases, these oases are not isolated business opportunities, but reflect a
shift from the old-style political behavior to a significant degree of
cooperation from regional authorities. Successful examples breed imitation
and belie the claim that "it can't be done in Russia." 

The federal government has a responsibility to amplify these successes
nationwide through certain initiatives: 

* dissemination and implementation of International Accounting Standards
(IAS), already approved by the Russian federal government. The importance
of IAS as an investment attraction tool cannot be overemphasized; 

* assisting the regions in resolving inter-regional differences in the
interpretation of laws governing taxation and investment; 

* coordination of federal and regional investment and economic development
policies and regulations; 

* enhancing local financing opportunities, either through localization of
federal resources, and/or facilitating the localization of international
funds or credit institutions; 

* coordination of international technical assistance programs through a
harmonized center/region economic development policy. 

Russia as a nation-state is at risk. The survival test in the 21st century
for any global organization will be its ability to manage to its advantage
flows of increasing tempo - e.g. cash, capital, information, goods,
people. Only flexible and efficient organizations can manage these flows.
Russian organizations fail the test miserably. Such organizations cannot
thrive when so much of their energies are devoted to questions of power
because they are in an environment where the use of power is not regulated
or predictable. 

The regions can become vehicles for progress in this turbulent environment.
By virtue of their size and growing power, they can positively alter the
historically bad dynamic between the central power structure and the rest
of the country. Examples of good public and corporate governance are
appearing, if slowly. Where this exists, investment follows, complete with
job creation, social services and other benefits. For its part, it is time
for the federal government to make a virtue out of a necessity and
proactively seek to coordinate policies and truly cooperate with the
regions. Creating wealth and demonstrating good government, even on a
limited scale, can begin a string of successes which even Russian history
cannot extinguish. 

*******

#7
Prominent Russian Figures Run for Duma 

Moskovskiy Komsomolets 
22 July 1999
[translation for personal use only]
Article by Mariya Markina: "New Flies to the Old Honeypot. The Way to 
Parliament Starts in the North" 

One might think that the State Duma is smothered in 
honey: Politicians are striving for it with so zealously. And it is, in 
fact, smothered in it: Everyone can find a tasty morsel there -- 
prestige, privileges, parliamentary immunity, or money for lobbying.... 

In the Duma-2000 we may see people who have not been in the current 
parliament. Admittedly, it cannot be said that these will be new people. 

All of them are well known wise old birds.... 

Boris Berezovskiy has recently made the highest-profile statement about 
his intention to become a deputy. The ORT rostrum is evidently too tight 
for Boris Abramovich Berezovskiy, who has been deprived of state posts: 
He wants the rostrum in the Duma... Can you imagine what a moral trump 
card Boris Abramovich will obtain if he wins in any single-seat 
constituency? Everyone has kept saying that the people do not like me, 
and here you go.... The second reason behind Berezovskiy's desire is not 
only the parliamentary immunity but also the immunity of a candidate 
deputy as well. This is very topical under the Damoclean sword of 
criminal cases.... 

The constituency chosen by Boris Abramovich has not yet been named. But 
he will hardly run in the "red" Rostov, Voronezh, or Father Kondrat's 
region [allusion to Governor Kondratenko of Krasnodar Kray] even if he 
has the money to do so. He has to run further to the north.... 

He can run in one of the seven constituencies of Lebed's Krasnoyarsk or 
even further. In the State Duma there are rumors that the "cool" 
governors can give anyone a guarantee that they will be elected for some 
$1.5-2 million. 

Former St. Petersburg Mayor Anatoliy Sobchak badly needs parliamentary 
immunity as well. Although his numerous interviews indicate that Anatoliy 
Aleksandrovich is going to represent the interests of St. Petersburg 
residents in the State Duma, he has not yet named a specific 
constituency. It is not ruled out that the residents of St. Petersburg, 
who are still concerned about the fate of the city's streetcar system 
that is terribly blocking the traffic in the city but is seemingly 
romantic, will support their former mayor. 

It is entirely possible that Viktor Chernomyrdin, former prime minister 
and head of Russia Is Our Home [NDR], will become head of some key 
committee in the next Duma. Currently, nobody believes that the NDR will 
overcome the 5-percent barrier and set up a faction in the Duma. Yet 
there is no doubt that Chernomyrdin himself will be elected in some 
single-seat "gas" constituency. Former Federation Council Speaker 
Vladimir Shumeyko, whom everyone has already forgotten, will attack the 
Duma from the north as well. For such an ambitious man as he the 
elections are a way to remind everyone about himself. Rumor has it that 
in the constituency that he has selected there are almost no voters at 
all, which makes the task easier. 

The Just Cause press service has announced that, according to 
preliminary arrangements, Yegor Gaydar will lead the Moscow City list of 
the democratic coalition. This is not his first attempt to return to 
power. During the 1995 elections the Russia's Democratic Choice that was 
led by him did not garner the required number of votes. The only hope is 
that his economic "feats" will fade out in the minds of the voters 
against the backdrop of later crises. 

A return to power of Boris Nemtsov, "young reformer" and dismissed 
deputy prime minister, through a Duma committee is very likely as well. 
He will most likely run in a single-seat constituency in his native 
Nizhniy Novgorod. 

Irina Khakamada, who is out of a job after another government 
perturbation, will try to regain her constituency as well. A serious 
battle may blaze up there. Former Border Guard Andrey Nikolayev, who has 
become a deputy in this same Orekhovo-Borisov constituency in Moscow 
after Khakamada became a government member, will hardly want to give up 
his seat. 

Ruslan Khasbulatov, former Supreme Soviet speaker and current department 
chief at the Plekhanov Academy, has also announced his desire to rise 
from the ashes. For him a parliamentary seat means first of all a desire 
to please his pride. Otherwise, how can one perceive his statement to the 
effect that he counts on support from 90 percent of the population? 

Judging by the abundant press articles and commentaries on political and 
parapolitical issues, it is impossible to rule out the appearance of 
artists in the State Duma: This refers to director Yuriy Grymov (maker of 
many advertisements and the Mu-Mu movie) and painter Marat Gelman. 
Let us remind readers that there are just 152 days before the State Duma 
elections.... 

*******

#8
Moscow Times
July 29, 1999 
SEASON OF DISCONTENT: Primakov and Luzhkov: Now In One Bottle 
By Andrei Piontkovsky 

Russia after Yeltsin" -- this was the large-scale theme of the academic
conference last week that brought together those people who, with touching
self-love, refer to themselves as the "Russian political elite." The genre
of the conference, however, was not followed, and it looked much more like
an electoral rally advertising Russia's new political "Head & Shoulders" -
"Primakov and Luzhkov in one bottle!" But it would be unjust to expect
dispassionate scientific objectivity from the main speakers, who are
working for the analytical center of Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov's election
campaign. 

Former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov's fortunate attribute, of
resembling Leonid Brezhnev both outwardly and in the essence of his policy,
brings him a certain popularity within the tired and disoriented society.
Primakov's rating corresponds remarkably to the results of the poll that
asked who was the most outstanding Russian politician of the 20th century.
The winner of that poll, by an overwhelming majority, was not Stalin,
Lenin, Stolypin or Gorbachev, but Leonid Ilych Brezhnev. In him, and his
Primakov incarnation, the post-Soviet myth of a golden century is
actualized. 

Yury Luzhkov's analysts must be pondering how to utilize this archetype of
Russian society's collective unconscious. Judging by the increasingly
certain statements from technologists serving both politicians, what is
envisaged is an electoral tandem - President Yevgeny Primakov and Prime
Minister Yury Luzhkov, with a change in the Constitution that will
significantly redistribute power in favor of the latter. 

The whole "political elite" is gradually uniting around this project. From
many on the left (it is possible Gennady Zyuganov himself is already
thinking about his role in this combination - State Duma speaker, for
example) to the media magnates of Most, who, better late than never, have
discovered reality and developed a taste for fighting tyranny and exposing
"the family." 

Forget for the time being that they are suggesting that Russia enter the
21st century ruled by two consuls, whose combined age approaches 150. Let's
think above all about the incompatibility of the legends of our future
consuls. The holy image of Yevgeny Primakov, created by the propagandists
of the Council for Foreign and Security Policy, is of a powerful elderly
man, the father of Russian derzhavnost, a intelligence master, an academic
and a diplomat, who bravely challenges the system of bandit capitalism
personified by the ruling "family." And suffered mightily for the Truth. 

So far, so good. But isn't it obvious that Moscow Mayor Yury Mikhailovich
Luzhkov, with all of his personal virtues, is the flesh and blood of the
existing system of power? And not only because he shouted at the top of his
lungs "Yeltsin! Russia!" during electoral rallies in 1996. But above all,
because the system he created in Moscow is based on the same incestuous
collusion of power and money as the federal system, created by the joint
efforts of the Communist nomenklatura and the young reformers. 

The Primakov-Luzhkov duo will inevitably become an organic continuation of
the epoch of nomenklatura Thermidor (the conversion of power into property)
that has been generating anti-efficient property owners and been
continuing under various ideological labels for more than 10 years. 

*******

#9
Primakov Seen Hinting at Alliance With Luzhkov 

Moskovskiy Komsomolets
26 July 1999
[translation for personal use only]
Article by Irina Filatova: "Has Primakov Made a Choice? The 
Matchmakers From Fatherland Are Coming" 

There are actually one or two positive aspects to 
the current media wars. On the basis of the channel on which this or that 
politician appears, the viewer can at the very least judge his 
orientation toward this or that camp. 

A good example of this would be Saturday's [24 July] interview with 
former Premier Primakov -- the first on his return from abroad. Yevgeniy 
Maksimovich [Primakov] agreed to present himself to the public on 
Luzhkov's channel, Center TV. Observers of the ups and downs of the 
romance between Primakov and Luzhkov that has been running for many 
months were left in no doubt that the interview was the very answer that 
Moscow's mayor had been seeking from the former premier in response to 
his marriage proposal.... 

However, on the screen Yevgeniy Maksimovich continued to maintain the image 
of a shy and unapproachable virgin, answering questions opaquely.... Will 
you participate in the parliamentary elections? This question is in the 
stage of reflection.... With whom will you cooperate? I intend to be 
together with certain politicians, if I participate at all.... 

Nevertheless, the word "yes" could be heard behind all of these 
questions. 

What can be said about Primakov's allies? They will be "healthy forces of 
the center -- the nucleus that can transform the country, that will help 
overcome the many difficulties that we are encountering today." Yevgeniy 
Maksimovich included in the "center" Fatherland, All Russia, and the 
Agrarian Party. Add the compliments addressed to the leader of one of the 
structures listed above -- Luzhkov -- and everything becomes clear. 
The question now is what role will Primakov now play in tandem with 
Luzhkov? On this matter, it would appear, neither he nor the Moscow mayor 
has made up his mind. 

*******

#10
Pobeda Patriotic Bloc To Be Set Up 

Sovetskaya Rossiya
24 July 1999
[translation for personal use only]
Proposal by Army General Valentin Varennikov, Hero of the Soviet 
Union and president of the Russian Association of Heroes of the Soviet 
Union, Heroes of Russia, and Holders of the Order of Glory, 1st, 2nd, and 
3d Class: "Heroes of Victory to the Patriots of Russia: Unite Under the 
Banner of Pobeda!" 

We, the participants in the Great Patriotic War, 
Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of Russia, and Holders of the Order of 
Glory -- 1st, 2nd, and 3d Class -- who offered all our blood and life's 
breath to our Great State, appeal to you, our children and grandchildren, 
on behalf of those who are still alive and preserve the sacred Banner of 
Victory [Pobeda] and those who lie at rest in the countless graves that 
stretch from the Kremlin Wall to the leafy groves of Berlin. 

[We feel] Pained and anxious about the fate of our country, which we 
bore away from the conflagrations of World War II on our shoulders, we 
built more beautifully than before on the ashes and brought it to 
prosperity and might. And then lost overnight through the malevolence of 
traitors and our own lack of understanding, credulity, and timidity of 
spirit. Today even the blind can see what they have done to the 
Motherland. Today even the deaf can hear the wailing and the call for 
help. Today's rulers, who are applauded by the raving Fuehrer from the 
other world, have reduced Great Russia by one-third. They have also 
reduced its population by one-third. They have cut it off from the seas 
to which Peter the Great fought his way. They have surrendered the 
strongholds taken by Suvorov. They have demolished the borders defended 
by Zhukov. They equip Russian soldiers with pikestaffs instead of 
missiles. They equip Russian plowmen with wooden plows instead of 
tractors. All that was held in common by the people has been taken away 
by bankers who have no links with the people. All that was built through 
great efforts has been seized by a handful of adroit speculators. The 
fruits of our labors have flowed abroad. Whence disease, profligacy, and 
high mortality. 

We cannot look on indifferently as the enemies of Russia extinguish the 
blinding Star of Victory with their putrid breath. Nor merely observe the 
defilers of the sacred graves as they dance on Red Square. It is 
unbearable to tolerate the abusers of the Motherland wiping their feet on 
the victory banner stained crimson with the blood of heavy battles. Are 
we really going to disappear, we the last cohort of veterans of the 
Fatherland, the last detachment fighting a rearguard action against the 
foe, and is the history of our Great Country going, in the wake of the 
Soviet Union, to end with us, fragmented into dozens of pieces by the 
petty ambitions of those who sit in gilded palaces? 

We, the war veterans, remaining in our trenches and continuing this last 
unequal engagement, call on all the people of Russia for help. Come to 
us, workers from your factories, farmers from your fields. Come to us, 
priests from your churches, tradesmen from your stores. Hard-working 
businessmen and perspicacious scientists. Writers and doctors, soldiers 
and sailors. 

Forget about who belongs to what party and who belongs to what faith. 
Agrarian or Communist, Orthodox or Muslim, Monarchist or freedom-lover. 
Forget the mutual recriminations and the quarrels which trouble our soul. 
Stand beneath the Banner of Pobeda and face up to the enemy who, albeit 
having donned a different mask, remains the same. 

We, the veterans of war and labor, observing the confusion that has 
taken possession of the patriots of Russia and which has split the people 
into "Reds" and Whites," "left-wingers" and "right-wingers," /intend on 
the eve of the Duma elections to set up the POBEDA ELECTORAL BLOC -- the 
only bloc for Russia's patriots./ [passage between slantlines printed in 
boldface] Assemble in this bloc, embrace with the strength of 100 
million, win the elections, and bring about at last that for which we 
fought the war -- peace and happiness for the people. Back then, in 1941, 
the people were united. Stalin was reconciled with Denikin [White Guard 
leader in exile who urged White emigres not to support Hitler against the 
Soviet Union]. The prisoner in the gulag and the guard in the watch tower 
-- both rushed to the front line. The priest with his icon and Shulzhenko 
with his guitar met in the trenches. On the battle field the Russian 
shielded with his body the Jew, who carried the Tatar away from beneath 
the hail of bullets. Musa Dzhalil composed verse to the glory of the 
Fatherland before dying in the fascist torture chamber. Kovpak derailed 
trains rushing tanks to Moscow. 

We appeal to patriotic leaders with an exhortation and paternal love 
but also with the firmness that befits front-line soldiers. Enough of 
sharing out posts and glorifying the search for a place for yourself on 
the electoral list. If the Motherland survives, it will repay everyone. 
Yet should it disappear, eternal shame upon you all. 

We intend in the very near future to create a broad patriotic forum and 
to announce the creation of the Pobeda bloc at it. 

The 20th century has been the century of Russian Victory. The 21st 
century will, despite all the adversities, be likewise! 

[Signed] Army General Valentin Varennikov, Hero of the Soviet Union and 
president of the Russian Association of Heroes of the Soviet Union, 
Heroes of Russia, and Holders of the Order of Glory, 1st, 2nd, and 3d 
Class 

*******

#11
Prosecutors Say No Claims to LUZHKOV'S Wife.

MOSCOW, July 29 (Itar-Tass) - A Russian Deputy Prosecutor General said
investigators had no claims to Yelena Baturina, the wife of Moscow mayor
Yuri Luzhkov, whose company "Iteko" was among 200 other firms suspected of
unlawful transfer of 230 million USD abroad. 

"There is no talk about the guilt of Yelena Baturina. At the present stage
of the investigation there are no claims to the wife of Luzhkov", the
Kommersant daily quoted on Thursday deputy prosecutor Mikhail Katyshev as
saying. 

Katyshev stressed that the checks of "Iteko" documents were lawful. The
checks caused a scandal as Luzhkov, a potential presidential hopeful,
immediately qualified them as Kremlin attempts to discredit him and his
Otechestvo movement and called to change the authorities. 

Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin criticised Luzhkov for such a sharp
reaction saying he could understand that the mayor was defending his wife,
but the means of defence could not be justified. 

Stepashin's statement came a day after President Boris Yeltsin said through
his spokesman that he had paid attention to "the statements of clearly
provocative character made by some Russian politicians" and that he was
"concerned by the trend to use any developments in Russia for loud
political declarations in order to attract the attention of the public to
the authors of the statements". 

Yeltsin gave no names, but the Russian press linked his words to Luzhkov's
accusations. 

******

#12
The Electronic Telegraph (UK)
29 July 1999
[for personal use only] 
Belarus and Russia to tie the knot
By Marcus Warren in Minsk

AFTER a long and difficult courtship the marriage of Russia and Belarus,
Europe's biggest merger since German reunification, looks closer than ever
before.

A treaty to create a single state out of the oddly matched pair is due to
be signed in the autumn, the most tangible step yet towards what its
supporters claim is historical destiny. Belarus's authoritarian President
Alexander Lukashenko has even suggested he could stand against President
Yeltsin for the new union's presidency.

Dynamo Minsk have also been invited to play in the Russian football league
next season. For all the popular nostalgia for the Soviet Union and
rhetoric of Slavic brotherhood, it is down to the two presidents to decide
whether Russia and Belarus will unite.

The autumn treaty will be the culmination of years of agreements,
declarations of intent and drafts. Russia is also insisting on a referendum
before any real merger takes place. The two countries' military work
closely together already. But the document now on the table is supposed to
resolve what sort of union will finally emerge and how it will be run.

If it happens, unification will not come a moment too soon for Mr
Lukashenko, who no longer bothers to hide his impatience at the slow pace
of progress so far. He said this week: "Russia and the Russians are sacred
for Belarussians." But he also had to distance himself from a recent
interview in which he vowed never to be "Yeltsin's errand boy".

The project of merging the two countries is also gaining new momentum
thanks to the Kremlin. One of its devious plans to keep Mr Yeltsin in power
after he steps down as Russia's president in a year's time is to make him
head of the new entity.

As cunning as he is unpredictable, Mr Lukashenko offered the Kremlin this
very option in the spring but was rebuffed. The snub was a major setback
for his ambitions one day to rule over a restored Soviet Union, if only a
rump of its former self. But Mr Lukashenko does not give up easily.

Outside Russia he may be regarded as a virtual pariah, notorious for his
cosy friendship with Slobodan Milosevic and expelling Western ambassadors
from their residences a year ago. But at home he rules supreme.

Any political rivals he once had are either in prison or in exile. The
media are muzzled but most Belarussians still support their president,
known as "Father", while also grumbling about food shortages and poverty.

The former Soviet-era farm boss is 44 and in vigorous health; and, like
most foreign visitors, Mr Lukashenko has quickly become bored with Belarus
and is eager to export his talents and idiosyncratic system. Yuri
Drakokhrust, a local analyst, said: "He has a good quality product to market. 

"Belarus is in no danger of collapsing, it has oil and gas pipelines to the
West, no bandits and he is in complete control of the place. He wants a
high price for it. Ideally he would like to swap Belarus for the Kremlin."

One reason why negotiating the merger has been so difficult is Mr
Lukashenko's headstrong self-confidence. The leader of a country of 10
million people has sought to dictate terms to one with 146 million.
Alexander Potupa, an opponent of Mr Lukashenko, said: "By rights Russia
should swallow up Belarus. But he tries to swallow Russia up into his own
political system."

*******

#13
Russia Hopes Loan Boosts Economy
July 29, 1990
By GREG MYRE

MOSCOW (AP) - With an International Monetary Fund loan on the way, Russian 
officials today expressed hope that more foreign debt assistance would follow 
soon and the anemic economy would receive a boost.

By itself, the new IMF loan won't revive Russia's economy, which has been in 
deep recession most of this decade and is continuing to shrink this year.

The IMF's $4.5 billion financial package, with the first disbursement planned 
within days, is just enough to cover Russia's existing debts to the fund this 
year and next. The money will simply be shifted from one IMF account to 
another in Washington, and none of it will actually reach Russia.

Still, the IMF's decision Wednesday to approve the loan was a rare piece of 
encouraging financial news for Russia.

It's Russia's first large loan since the country's financial markets imploded 
last August, and other international lenders, including the World Bank and 
Japan, are expected to release funds now that the IMF has demonstrated its 
willingness to resume credits to Moscow.

``This will give Russia a breather,'' said Alexander Livshits, Russia's envoy 
to the G-8, which includes the world's leading industrialized democracies and 
Russia.

Russia has defaulted on a series of foreign debts in recent months, and says 
it simply can't afford the roughly $150 billion in foreign debt payments that 
fall due over the next several years.

The IMF loan should lead foreign lenders to restructure Russia's debts, said 
Finance Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who was to meet today with members of the 
Paris Club of creditors, which holds about $40 billion of Russian debt dating 
to the Soviet era.

``Now that a program is ready and backed by the IMF and World Bank, creditors 
have formal grounds to hold official talks with us on restructuring debts,'' 
Kasyanov told the ITAR-Tass news agency in the French capital.

Russia grew hugely dependent on foreign loans as its economy withered this 
decade during the messy transition to a market economy. However, 
international lending ground to a halt after Russia defaulted on debts and 
devalued its currency last August.

The country has repaid some debts and defended the currency by drawing from 
its Central Bank reserves, which have been steadily dwindling.

Central Bank reserves fell from $11.5 billion to $11 billion during the week 
ending July 23, the bank announced today.

No reason was given for the decline, but foreign currency traders said the 
bank has been intervening regularly to prop up the Russian currency, which is 
holding steady at 24 to the U.S. dollar.

The IMF's first loan installment to Russia will be for $640 million. The fund 
said it intends to closely monitor Russia's economy, and subsequent 
disbursements ``will depend on completion of quarterly reviews.''

Russia owes $18 billion to the IMF, making it the fund's largest debtor.

******** 

#14
USIA
27 July 1999 
Transcript: Gore, Stepashin Joint Statement on U.S.-Russia Commission 
(Joint Commission on Economic and Technological Cooperation) (1160)

U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Chairman of the Government of the
Russian Federation Sergey Stepashin held an executive session of the
U.S.-Russian Joint Commission on Economic and Technological
Cooperation in Washington July 27.

In a joint statement, they reaffirmed their commitment "to use the
Commission to achieve the goals set forth by Presidents Clinton and
Yeltsin to strengthen the U.S.-Russia relationship in ways that
benefit both the American and Russian people."

"It is in the interest of both the United States and Russia to reduce
our nuclear arsenals, cooperate on international peace and security,
enhance nonproliferation regimes, and promote trade, economic, and
technological cooperation and open and competitive markets," the
statement said.

Gore and Stepashin are co-chairs of the Commission, which was created
in 1993.

Following is the text of the joint statement:

(Begin text)

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
July 27, 1999

JOINT STATEMENT OF THE CO-CHAIRMEN OF THE U.S.-RUSSIAN JOINT
COMMISSION ON ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL COOPERATION

U.S. Vice President Al Gore and Chairman of the Government of the
Russian Federation Sergey Stepashin held an executive session of the
U.S.-Russian Joint Commission on Economic and Technological
Cooperation in Washington today. The co-chairmen commended the work
already accomplished since the Commission's creation in 1993 and
reaffirmed its importance for ensuring the continued vitality of the
U.S.-Russian relationship and encouraging practical cooperation of
benefit to both countries.

Building on the results of the meeting between Presidents Bill Clinton
and Boris Yeltsin in June 1999 in Cologne, the Vice President and the
Chairman of the Government discussed how to advance our relations and
mutual interests, deepen U.S.-Russian cooperation, and address common
problems. They affirmed that it is in the interest of both the United
States and Russia to reduce our nuclear arsenals, cooperate on
international peace and security, enhance nonproliferation regimes,
and promote trade, economic, and technological cooperation and open
and competitive markets.

The co-chairmen reviewed progress in U.S.-Russian cooperation to
promote investment and economic growth. They noted important reforms
that have been enacted in areas such as fiscal policy, the banking
sector, and exchange rate liberalization. These reforms, and the
additional steps the Russian government plans to take to strengthen
the investment climate, will help sustain recent positive
developments, encourage Russia's private sector, and open new
prospects for mutually beneficial trade.

The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government noted the recent
agreement to increase the Russian quota for commercial space launches
to geosynchronous orbit by 4 launches and to implement in the shortest
possible time the necessary legal procedures regarding amending the
existing international commercial space launch trade agreement with
the establishment of a general quota of 20 commercial launches through
2000. The sides agreed to begin consultations in the fall of this year
regarding questions of future cooperation in the sphere of
international commercial space launch trade, including discussing new
perspectives for the period after the existing agreement expires.

The Vice President and Chairman of the Government commended the U.S.
and Russian civil space communities for the successful launching of
the first two elements of the International Space Station. They look
forward to the launch of the next element, the Russian Service Module,
in late 1999.

The co-chairmen discussed the key issues of international security and
arms control. They highlighted the Cologne commitments made by
Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin to begin discussions on START III and
the ABM Treaty later this summer while at the same time pursuing the
ratification of START II. The Vice President and Chairman of the
Government reviewed the preparations for these discussions and agreed
that they will start in Moscow in August 1999. They also agreed to
accelerate work on implementing the agreement reached by Presidents
Clinton and Yeltsin in September 1998 on exchange of information on
missile launches and early warning.

The Vice President and Chairman of the Government reaffirmed the vital
importance of joint additional efforts to prevent the transfer of
sensitive materials and technology. They commended the achieved level
of U.S.-Russian cooperation in the area of nonproliferation and export
control and noted recent progress by the Russian government to
strengthen the policy, legal, and institutional foundations of
Russia's export control system. In this regard, the co-chairmen
expressed their commitment to the implementation of the work plans set
forth to strengthen export controls and prevent proliferation
activities and pledged to continue working closely together to achieve
this shared goal.

Looking toward the 21st Century and guided by agreements reached in
June 1999 in Cologne by Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin, the Vice
President and the Chairman of the Government directed the Commission
to intensify its efforts toward furthering a number of priorities,
which include:

-- Facilitation of further increases in bilateral trade and investment
flows by encouraging a competitive market environment, providing
better access to markets, removing remaining trade barriers, acting on
early warning exchanges on potential trade issues, and creating market
conditions conducive to new EXIM and OPIC financing of promising
projects in Russia;

-- Encouragement of small enterprise development in Russia under the
aegis of the Commission's new Small Business Working Group;

-- Development of strategies for Russian integration into the global
economy, including joint work on WTO and OECD accession, and
continuation of joint efforts to complete Russia's transition to a
market economy. As part of this latter process, the sides will create
under the aegis of the Commission's Business Development Committee a
Working Group to facilitate achievement of this shared goal. The
Russian side intends to submit a legal memorandum to the U.S.
Department of Commerce to initiate a review process of Russia's market
economy status within the context of U.S. anti-dumping law;

-- Development of conditions conducive to expanding U.S. investment in
the Russian economy, including the active use of production sharing
agreements;

-- Expansion of cooperative law enforcement and rule of law activities
under the Commission's new Law Enforcement Working Group to combat
corruption, money laundering, and other aspects of organized crime and
to strengthen legal sector reform and rule of law for business in
Russia;

-- Broadening nuclear energy cooperation under the aegis of the
Commission's new Nuclear Committee;

-- Increased collaboration in addressing the Y2K problem;

-- Expansion of cooperative public health projects and research to
combat tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, and other infectious diseases;

-- Development of cooperative strategies to improve environmental
protection; and

-- Continued efforts to deepen military technical cooperation.

The Vice President and the Chairman of the Government are committed to
use the Commission to achieve the goals set forth by Presidents
Clinton and Yeltsin to strengthen the U.S.-Russia relationship in ways
that benefit both the American and Russian people. The co-chairmen
will continue to adapt the Commission and its activities to meet
emerging bilateral needs and reflect the increasingly interconnected
nature of the international community and global economy.

******