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FBIS3-23619_0 | Specifications of MTP-A2 Wrecker | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Article by KRASNAYA ZVEZDA correspondent Oleg Vladykin under the "Arsenal" rubric: "An Essential Item"] [Text] We recently (KRASNAYA ZVEZDA No 14, 1994) presented information on field service vehicle MTP-A4, which is designed for field servicing and evacuating disabled heavy vehicles. This present article deals with another "essential item" - one employed in the event of breakdown of lighter vehicles. The MTP-A2 is used when it is necessary to render assistance to drivers by eliminating malfunctions of vehicles belonging to the families UAZ, GAZ, ZIL, Ural, KamAZ, and MAZ; supply the vehicles with fuel, oil, and automotive fluids; and, if necessary, recover a mired vehicle or set one on its wheels. It can also tow immobilized vehicles weighing up to 10 tonnes by means of a tow bar or by employing the semi-loaded technique. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |MTP-A2 Technical Characteristics | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Basic Vehicle |KamAZ-4310 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Maximum recovery force, kgf: | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Without cable and pulley equipment |5,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |With cable and pulley equipment |14,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Maximum load on tow bar, kgf |3,104 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Mass of towed vehicle in semi-loaded |12,000 | |position, kg | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Mass of towed vehicle, kg: | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |On all types of roads |8,500 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |On paved roads |10,000 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Maximum lifting capacity of manipulat-|4,500 | |or, kg | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Disabled vehicle recovery preparation |15 | |time, min | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Crew, number of men |2 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |Curb weight, kg |12,240 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With what equipment is the MTP-A2 fitted? It carries a standard winch; lifting device (manipulator); devices to tow a vehicle by means of tow bar or semi-loaded technique; ground anchors; repair and grappling devices; an assortment of spare parts and materials; and containers carrying fuel, oil, and automotive fluids. All the above equipment is designed to rescue a vehicle which is in dire need of assistance. |
FBIS3-23631_9 | Development, Role of Ukraine's Civil Defense Chief of Staff Grechaninov on Civil Defense Tasks | subdivisions in all the work. It is difficult even to single anybody out. The people let nothing stop them from rescuing the victims, organizing their evacuation, and giving them blood, food, and medical assistance. [Dmitriyev] In other words, they are doing their duty honorably. Many people are in need of their help. In this connection a question arises: What about civil defense itself, does it need help from the state? What problems does your department have? [Grechaninov] During all of 1993 the collective of the staff of the civil defense of Ukraine was working with dedication to improve the country's civil defense system. At the same time objective difficulties, primarily financial ones, are impacting the effectiveness of the measures we are taking. Thus the chief of civil defense is the prime minister. His frequent replacement has a negative impact on the state of affairs... In order to carry out the difficult task in the region that is affected the specialists need special equipment, instruments, means of personal protection, etc. And all this requires the corresponding material expenditures. Unfortunately, financial matters become worse each year. Although one should understand that the more money that is invested in measures for prevention of accidents and emergencies, the lower the cost of cleaning up after them. [Dmitriyev] Nonetheless, your department has a considerable potential of its own. Are any attempts being made to take advantage of internal reserves? [Grechaninov] Understanding the difficulty of the economic situation in the country, of course, we are assessing its capabilities realistically and searching for additional reserves, including in international activity. In particular, civil defense of Russia has received tens of millions of dollars for delivering humanitarian aid cargo through the UN. And this year we too want to become involved in the implementation of the humanitarian aid programs of this international organization. We are now very much in need of money. Because we have conceived and are working on one necessary system. [Dmitriyev] One wonders what it is needed for, if, of course, it is not a secret. [Grechaninov] Our specialists are working on a system of notification which would automatically inform the civil defense staff if an accident occurs at a dangerous enterprise. And then it would not make any difference whether the manager wanted to inform us of this promptly or not--we would have our own information about what happened. Remember how much time they remained |
FBIS3-23645_2 | WIG Design Bureau Struggling to Survive | distinguished. The first has a low wing aspect ratio--up to 1. These are known as craft employing the dynamic principle of support. They have only a rudder, and they possess (conditionally) two degrees of freedom, like a car or a small boat. They are driven by boat captains. Craft employing the dynamic principle of support include, for example, the Volga-2 passenger boat and the Raketa-2 gas turbo-vessel. The second type is represented by surface skimmers with a wing aspect ratio of up to 3. They have three degrees of freedom, and they fly within the limits of surface effect. They are equipped with an elevator. This type of surface skimmers includes the KM, Strizh, Orlenok and Lun. The third type is surface effect aircraft. When necessary, they can fly at high altitude like airplanes. These are still just plans and models. Everything that could happen during testing has, including accidents and disasters. In all cases the commissions concluded that crew error was the main cause of the incident. During testing of the Orlenok its tail section disintegrated and broke off together with the sustainer engine. But the surface skimmer did not sink, and it was able to return to base on its own power using its starting engines. The surface skimmers KM, Volga-2 and Raketa-2 were described earlier in the No 11, 1991 issue of KRYLYA RODINY. Other designs are presented below. The small Strizh surface skimmer is a two-seat craft. It is intended for pilot training. It is capable of taking off and landing on a water and a snow surface. It may be used for patrolling, communications and business flights. V. Bulanov is the chief designer. Length--11.4 m. Wingspan--6.6 m. Height--3.6 m. Takeoff weight--1,630 kg. Maximum speed--200 km/hr, cruising speed--175/hr. Takeoff run (water/snow)--600/400 m, landing run--350/300 m. Flying range with a passenger--500 km. Ferrying range--800 km. Flying altitude above surface--0.3-1.0 m. Navigability: Takeoff and landing at a wave state of up to 0.5 m, capable of floating at a wave state of up to 1.3 m. Time of a training flight with one person aboard--3 hr, with two--1-2 hr. Engines--two rotary piston water-cooled VAZ-4133, 160 horsepower each. Fuel consumption--0.35 liters/km. The airframe is made from an aluminum-magnesium alloy. Structures are riveted together. The propellers are driven by a cardan shaft through a step-down one-step reduction gear and an automatic clutch. The propellers are five-bladed, 1.1 m in diameter, |
FBIS3-23649_1 | Korotchenko on `Information as Weapon' | force when all other available possibilities for influence are already exhausted or military actions will likely be brief and, as they say, certain of victory. A graphic example of this is the war in 1990-91 in the zone of the Persian Gulf. Thus, today information and information technologies are becoming a real weapon. A weapon not just in a metaphoric sense but in a direct sense as well. Natural questions are: What is the objective of the information action, under what principle does it work, and what kinds of dangerous effects of information are there? One of the basic targets of the influence of information is the consciousness and mind of man. Depending on the objectives being pursued, the scope of the actions, the nature and content of the tasks being resolved, and the forces and means being applied, these people may be specific persons (state and political leaders, employees of special services, military personnel, workers in law enforcement agencies, scientists, and members of political parties and movements) or particular social groups (workers, entrepreneurs, young people, housewives, etc.). But under the conditions when the system for the management of the state has been disrupted and a situation of public-political and socioeconomic instability has been created in the country or in a specific region, the entire population may be the target of its influence. The basis of the information action is a specially selected or developed information put into circulation with the help of well-defined and above all psychological methods and means at the proper time by some state or other or particular political forces against a selected target. Especially great here is the role of negative information or disinformation. Let us remember how the bloody events began in one of the former Central Asian republics of the USSR. A rumor ("They slaughtered our people at the bazaar because of a glass of strawberries") falling on the still-smoldering embers of interethnic disagreements about purely routine matters provoked mass killings of completely innocent women, children, and old men and led to many thousands of refugees. The events of recent years abroad and in our country show that a special role in the influence of information on the public consciousness belongs to television, above all, apparently, because it gives the viewers the illusion of participating in what is taking place on the screen. Moreover, we live under conditions in which the receipt of |
FBIS3-23649_9 | Korotchenko on `Information as Weapon' | then there is also a sharp decline in the morale and psychological stability of people. And aggressive rumors upset the interrelationships of people, disrupt the established ties between them, and promote interethnic and interreligious hostility and hatred. How can one counteract the destructive effect of rumors, including in the army environment? The most effective means of preventing the rise and circulation of rumors, of course, is the timely, systematic, and, the main thing, objective informing of personnel about events, facts, and problems. The more convincing information is and the more adequate it is from the point of view of quantity, the less reason there is for the rise of different conjectures that put a negative stamp on developing or existing public opinion. An important role in the prevention of rumors, especially under the conditions of an unstable military-political or socioeconomic situation, is played by meetings of managers of different levels with the mass audience (television and radio appeals, direct contacts, press conferences, briefings, etc.). It is precisely from such people that they expect the appropriate information in a complex situation. Such meetings must be regular regardless of how events develop. But what should be done if the rumor has already appeared? How should one react to it--remain silent, which amounts to promoting its further circulation, or deny it, which indirectly also serves to spread it? To counteract rumors in an active way, practice shows that the very best thing to do is to put specific undeniable facts up against it. That is, one must strive to fill the lack of information at once. Probably one ought to include in the category of important educational tasks the development of a culture in service personnel for the perception of information, so to speak. We will not forget that for many years our people were not educated in the spirit of excessive trust in any printed word and any statement made on television or radio. It is necessary to develop in them the ability to analyze information critically and a certain mental outlook, a culture of perception. It is necessary to teach people to orient themselves independently in the flow of information and to assess the degree of authority of some source or other and to develop in them a kind of immunity against clearly unprincipled information actions. Of course one should not overestimate the role of the mass media and rumors in |
FBIS3-23696_0 | Pros and Cons of Cooperation on Alpha Space Station Project | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Article by Lev Kamanin, under the rubric "Opinion": "The Space Joint Enterprise `Alpha': Will It Happen or Not? Recent Rivals Are Interested in Collaboration in Orbit"; first two paragraphs are source introduction] [Text] According to the predictions of futurologists, a cherished dream of mankind will be fulfilled in 2017 -- the flight of an international crew to Mars that will put researchers on the planet's surface. The choice of that year for the Mars mission was, of course, no accident: that's the year of the next occurrence of the closest approach of the blue and red planets, during which their orbits will closest to each other. But even with the most favorable conditions for the mission, the flight to Mars and back to Earth will take about two years. The only way to prepare the cosmonauts for such a journey and to be make certain that the life-support systems are reliable under conditions of long-term weightlessness is aboard a long-duration orbital station. Two Tactics After the successful completion in the summer of 1975 of the experiment in the Soyuz-Apollo program, the American astronauts didn't go into space for almost six years. Regular space missions were resumed in the United States in April 1981, aboard the Space Shuttle orbital airplane. Without their own long-duration orbital station, the Americans were forced to be content with short-term "runs" into near-Earth space. The U.S. tactic for exploring near-space was the opposite of ours, which consisted of long-term missions (up to a year or more) aboard the Salyut and Mir stations. True enough, about 10 years ago, an ambitious program for the creation of the international Freedom orbital station under the aegis of the United States appeared, but it was not judged to be implementable because of, first, the considerably higher cost of the Shuttle flights (by comparison with the cost of the project itself) and, second, the amplification of the confrontation between two superpowers in a cold war. The latter factor played a decisive role in the fate of the Freedom station. The fact is that at roughly that time, in response to the placement of Soviet missiles in countries of Eastern Europe, the U.S. government officially announced the adoption of the doctrine of SDI, the Strategic Defense Initiative, which aimed at developing protective laser armaments and placing them in space. Was the doctrine of "star wars" a flat-out bluff |
FBIS3-23735_9 | Saadanbekov Details Political Views, Activities | from the same area that I do. Not knowing this themselves, the signers drove themselves into an ideological swamp. There is a new century outside and fresh winds of democracy, but they are arming themselves with the Bolshevist club of violence. In essence, both the extreme right and the extreme left radicals are Bolsheviks, only with a different symbol. [Malevanyy] In your time, you were one of the creators in the Supreme Council of the opposition platform of the "group of 114"; that is, you rendered definite services to democracy and the "silk revolution" that took place in the country. And suddenly everything is forgotten and discarded, and a wave force of nine of rejection both from the side of part of the deputy corps as well as of political parties is being raised around your name. What has caused this, the change of direction of your positions to the right, an evolution of views, or do you see something else here, and what specifically, then? [Saadanbekov] It is necessary to look into the peculiarities of mass psychology. You recall when, at the last session of the Supreme Council of the previous convocation, I was one of the first to raise the question about national state sovereignty and about a state language, literally an explosion occurred in the social conscience, and here, there, and everywhere they applauded, standing. You remember the story with Khrustalov's notorious article "Duplicity," when I, risking everything, defended the right of the existence of national traditions and customs, and society applauded warmly at that time. Society accepted and applauded when we completed, as they say, the "silk revolution." But apparently the social nature of the mass psychology is such that a lot is forgotten quickly. I saw with my own eyes how people calmly gazed at the swastika that adorned the walls, they read fascist leaflets, laughing while walking along and, shrugging their shoulders, went past a mob that declared: "We are the black hundred." To what extent have people forgotten everything! They have forgotten the known and unknown soldiers who believed that they were fighting against fascism, and they betrayed them. They betrayed relatives and friends, the millions who perished on the GULAG islands and indifferently looked at the rallies of Anpilov and Barkashov. Only in a society that is stricken with a lack of memory and an absence of disgust can be like this. |
FBIS3-23735_16 | Saadanbekov Details Political Views, Activities | two or three inveterate yellow-press newspapers. I do not read the hogwash with which they regale a narrow circle of readers, holding them to be loonies. I am a normal person who has his work, thoughts, family, hopes, and faith, and, therefore, I am not interested in the ideological prostitution of aggressive ignoramuses who thirst, as the classic often used to say, "to play a role" at any price. [Malevanyy] Zhumagul Saadanbekovich, in light of the recent elections in Russia, what will be the fate of democracy in our country, and will it not collapse under the weight of economic conditions and political reprisals? [Saadanbekov] Some kind of cave-in has occurred with these elections in Russia. It is very difficult to rethink and realize all of this, but one thing is clear. Democracy suffered a serious defeat. And it serves the democrats of Russia right. As it is here, they have not had unity for a long time, and they literally fought among themselves. Many democrats stood on the sidelines in a struggle that was going on not for life, but to the death between the representative and executive branches of power. But the same thing, if not worse, is going on in our republic in the democratic camp. Few of the democrats remain, as they say, of the first callup, the first wave, with genuine democratic convictions. Some slammed the door loudly and made for the near abroad, and others head the opposition to the government. Still others, working in the executive structure, show themselves to be in no way better than the former officials. The democratic movement today abounds in selfish, arrogant, and foolish people. The people are tired of their dilettantism, from the complex of failures who on a wave of criticism became deputies and entered the government structure, but who cannot work. They replace genuine activity with the appearance of activity. Because these people, from one side and the other, do not know how to work. Some of them absolutely do not fit the position they occupy; therefore, they put everything they have into a fight with someone. But if you are fighting with somebody, you do not have to work, and then it is sufficient to devise scathing arguments against one's opponent. All of them joined the democrats, when this was safe and even prestigious, and it also promised dividends. After all, there is nothing |
FBIS3-23746_0 | Sakha President Views Economic Progress | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Interview with Mikhail Yefimovich Nikolayev, president of the Sakha Republic, conducted by Robert Serebrennikov: "Mikhail Nikolayev, President of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) and Federal Assembly Deputy, Is VOSTOCHNYY EKSPRESS' Guest"] [Text] [Serebrennikov] Mikhail Yefimovich, what has the past year meant for your republic? [Nikolayev] The main goal we set was to prevent a decline in production. Today the republic's budget is balanced -- as we earn, so we will also live. I can say with confidence that power production, the diamond industry, gold mining and the coal industry will achieve their proper levels. We are shifting our economy to a market-based system, but in the Far North there are some industries and individual enterprises that are unprofitable for the republic. For example, a combine that mines and manufactures tin concentrates in the Arctic. Its annual output as measured in current prices established by the government of the Russian Federation is around R12 billion [rubles]. Yet our expenditures for it are R50-60 billion! We would shut the combine down as unsuited to a market economy, but we must also consider Russia's interests. Also, we mine approximately 14 million tonnes of anthracite coal, yet we consume only 4 million. We export the rest. And the more coal we mine, the more money we lose! Worse yet, our customers -- Amur Oblast, Khabarovsk and Maritime krays and Chelyabinsk -- are not paying for the shipments they receive. So we have to make up for the shortfalls out of our meager budget. Additionally, there are also strategic issues. For example, construction of a railroad. We would have to build it and equip it at our own expense. But it is Russia that really needs the railroad! We have a great many problems. If they are not solved that will be bad for Russia. It is time for us to move away from political games and toward practical action. Else it will only be words when we talk about "reviving Russia" or a "great Russia." I hope that beginning in 1994 our parliament will begin working for the good of all citizens. [Serebrennikov] How is the situation with regard to attracting foreign investment to your republic? [Nikolayev] The Sakha Republic currently has economic ties with 22 countries around the world, and approximately 30 joint ventures with foreign companies have been established. We intend to update equipment in the coal, diamond, food |
FBIS3-23751_7 | Tatarstan's Shaymiyev on Socioeconomic Situation Execution of the Consolidated and Republic Budgets of the Republic of Tatarstan | at the macroeconomic level. An escape from the impasse and real stabilization under the conditions of the evolved economy require an entirely different level of work of the state organs of administration. A surmounting of the cost-no-object nature of the economy and arrival at a sufficient level of competitiveness are possible only with the painstaking, persevering, and quite long-term work of the state at the macro- and micro-economic levels. The development of market reforms thus requires not a weakening but a strengthening of state influence on the economy, and it is production that is in need of this first and foremost. A certain amount of work is being performed in this direction in Tatarstan. A concept of structural transformations of the economy of the republic has been devised. True, it also requires considerable modification. Even today we can speak about certain experience of the interaction of the government authorities on the structural reorientation of enterprises of the military-industrial complex of the Republic of Tatarstan based on the competitive selection and realization of business projects for specific areas encompassing sectors of the agro-industrial complex, the construction complex, the production of health-care equipment, and certain others. We attempted for the first time to link structural changes in the republic's economy with work at the level of specific enterprises with regard to the economic expediency of the projects and the timeframe of their cost recovery and the return of invested capital. All these efforts made by the government of the republic unilaterally are undoubtedly insufficient for compensating for the wholesale reduction in government contracts for enterprises of the military-industrial complex. The reduction has proceeded at an increasing tempo: 22 percent in 1991, 44 percent in 1992, and 41 percent in 1993. The federal authorities have constantly reneged on their commitments pertaining to the funding of conversion measures. Use has been made even of a highly original method of "combating" inflation--the Government of the Russian Federation has simply not paid for the defense hardware product which it had ordered and which has been manufactured. The total arrears on the manufactured product in 1993 amount to more than R33 billion. We are at the present time continuing to work with the Government of the Russian Federation at various levels to resolve the accumulated urgent problems. In January 1994 the government of the republic concluded an agreement with the Mashinoeksport Association, which had expressed a readiness |
FBIS3-23752_12 | Modern History, Prospects of Cossack Movement Viewed | stage of the movement under study, it developed from the outset as a sociopolitical organization. The Union of Cossacks set forth its programmatic demands in the "Declaration of the Cossacks of Russia." Most of its points have now been carried out (with the exception of the points on exempting the Cossacks from state taxes, including those on land, until 1995 and on taking state measures to bring administrative-territorial borders into conformity with ethnic borders in areas traditionally settled by Cossacks). In particular, all acts passed concerning the Cossacks beginning 1918 have been canceled as illegal with regard to taking repressive measures. The rights of the Cossacks to restore the traditional social and economic lifestyle and cultural traditions and to establish territorial public self-government, traditional forms of land use, the restoration of the traditional names of inhabited localities and areas, and the creation of public associations of Cossacks with historically established names have been acknowledged. Obviously, the legislative acts were intended not only to do historic justice but also to expand the base of support for executive and legislative structures in the environment of a crisis of power. The Unification Congress of the Cossack Host of all the Kuban (October 1992) reflected the sociopolitical evolution of the movement: The main principles of the statute were approved, amounting to the "assumption by the Cossack organization, which had previously been merely sociopatriotic, of the responsibilities of a state structure and the impermissibility of membership in any political party for Cossacks" (see KUBANSKIYE NOVOSTI, 28 October 1992). This aspiration was expressed in the "Declaration of Cossacks" dated 30 January 1993, which said that at the present stage the Union of Cossacks plays the role of an organizational center which should be transformed into a state structure assuming the functions of governing the Cossack estate. The ataman of the Union of Cossacks, the atamans of troops, regional unions, districts, divisions, communities, and Cossack settlements were viewed as official representatives of the Cossack estate in the local organs of state power. The possible forms of state service by Cossacks reflecting their traditions were specified. The above facts indicate that attempts to restrict the Cossack movement to a cultural-historic, "folklore" framework are unsuccessful. Only a conflict with the power structure may result from such attempts. Under present-day conditions, the Cossacks are becoming one of the most active and--this is particularly significant--most politically organized groups of the population. |
FBIS3-23757_2 | Moscow Post Office's Increased Delivery Cost Threatens Newspapers | is the solution? First of all, it probably would be worth looking in detail at the calculations; that is, seeing exactly what is included in postal expenses for this new six-month period. In particular, are the wages justified for postal carriers, who incidentally have stopped delivering mail in afternoons and evenings and have only one morning delivery, and even that one is not done the way it should be. As of February 1st, a postman's pay will be somewhat higher than that of a physician, a scientist, or an artist, whose work is no less important, and whose work, of course, takes many hours more than--for example-- a postman's job. It also would not hurt to clarify whether, as a hedge against future increases, funds have been allocated for new delivery prices. That move would be a barrier to postal and communications workers' ability to carry on at least some kind of commercial activity as soon as we start living according to the laws of the market economy. Prices just cannot be increased practically every three months for using the same post office box, nor can postage prices be drastically increased, especially since no additional effort has been expended and delivery of mail has not been speeded up, but on the contrary, slowed down. The main point is, however, that as long as we pattern our present lives exclusively on civilized states that we consider models of capitalism, we should not forget that in those developed and flourishing states the postal system is a government service and is protected in every respect by the governments of those states. In actuality, no matter what one says, the postal service also fulfills a social function in our country by helping people attain their constitutional right to know about everything that is going on in the world. It would be unjust to assert that no one in Moscow understands this. Let us remind you only of the generous impulse of the mayor's office, which clearly foresaw the threat of a drastic decrease in the number of newspaper issues published in Moscow and presented the Moscow Post Office with a subsidy of 100 million rubles. It is true, of course, that the postal and communications workers had to "squeeze" this money out bit by bit; nevertheless, the fact is that they received it. Also there was the order given last March by B. Nikolskiy, |
FBIS3-23771_2 | Expert Views Energy Crisis | such as gasoline, kerosine and diesel fuel, and a huge quantity of heavy fuels. Moreover, low yields from refining were tolerated. Ukrainian refineries get only 40 percent of light fuels from processed crude, whereas US refineries get up to 70 percent. The existence of rich deposits of inexpensive natural gas allowed us to bring gas to most cities and towns, and to use it widely in industry. The low prices on oil and natural gas were based on costs, and not set to match world prices. This principle resulted in the construction of a large number of cheap but wasteful energy using systems. Unfortunately, delivery of oil and gas to Ukraine is being used by Russia to apply pressure in solving political problems. At the same time, Russia itself is experiencing a profound crisis of oil production. Output has declined by 40 percent. Therefore, from every point of view, Ukraine must find a general solution for other sources of energy. [Kulchynskyy] What is the outlook for the development of hydroelectric and nuclear power? [Orobets] Ukraine has resources to develop nuclear power, but the entire processing plant of the nuclear power industry is based in Russia. As to hydroelectric power, our low-lying country with slow-flowing rivers would limit the development of this type of energy. This is why hydroelectric plants produce only 4 percent of power while their reservoirs take up hundreds of hectares of some of the richest black soil in the world. [Kulchynskyy] Recently, in this country and the world over, the idea of using alternative sources has become popular. [Orobets] The most realistic sources of alternative energy are, in practice, the energy of the sun, the wind, sea waves and photosynthesis. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to tap solar and wind energy. From the practical point of view, it is necessary to know exactly how much capacity must be in reserve for the period when there is no sun or when it goes behind clouds, or when there is no wind, and how long it will last. Taking into account these details, as well as the great expenditures required for the mass production of generating equipment, commercial production of this "free" energy turns out to be considerably more expensive than traditional sources. Along with wind-driven generators, the most promising is research in the production of fuel using photochemical and photobiological processes. Also, sun batteries can be used |
FBIS3-23771_3 | Expert Views Energy Crisis | low-lying country with slow-flowing rivers would limit the development of this type of energy. This is why hydroelectric plants produce only 4 percent of power while their reservoirs take up hundreds of hectares of some of the richest black soil in the world. [Kulchynskyy] Recently, in this country and the world over, the idea of using alternative sources has become popular. [Orobets] The most realistic sources of alternative energy are, in practice, the energy of the sun, the wind, sea waves and photosynthesis. Unfortunately, it is not always possible to tap solar and wind energy. From the practical point of view, it is necessary to know exactly how much capacity must be in reserve for the period when there is no sun or when it goes behind clouds, or when there is no wind, and how long it will last. Taking into account these details, as well as the great expenditures required for the mass production of generating equipment, commercial production of this "free" energy turns out to be considerably more expensive than traditional sources. Along with wind-driven generators, the most promising is research in the production of fuel using photochemical and photobiological processes. Also, sun batteries can be used effectively. By the way, Ukraine produces and profitably exports them. Using alternative sources, the problem of supplying energy to some remote sites can be easily resolved. [Kulchynskyy] In your opinion, can the energy crisis be overcome, or at least mitigated, using domestic capabilities? [Orobets] Of course. To do this, we must first of all reorganize import and export of petroleum products. Despite difficulties with energy sources, gasoline remains Ukraine's main export. The theft of national property must be decisively stopped. Moreover, for various reasons, energy is used very ineffectively. Measures to save energy can be divided into two categories. The first category consists of organizational measures, which entail the introduction of strict discipline and order in industry. The second category is the development of technical measures to reduce energy intensity in industry. The first category of measures can be implemented very rapidly. Moreover, privatization would accelerate this process. This can save 5-to-7 percent of electric power and 10-to-15 percent of energy used for heating. The implementation of the second category of measures will bring results that are 2-to-3 times greater, but here, major investment and considerable reconstruction will be required. Ukraine is building an oil terminal near Odessa, the first |
FBIS3-23773_0 | Trade Union Leader on Organization's Policy | Language: Russian Article Type:BFN [Interview with Vladimir Goncharik, chairman of the Belarusian Trade Union Federation, by Galina Nikolaychik; place and date not given: "Strong Power Always Needs Strong Trade Unions"] [Excerpts] [Nikolaychik] Trade unions believe that it is their obligation to respond to every harsh measure taken by the government by way of declarations, protests, and strikes. However, one gets the impression that this is like tilting at windmills: The government pays little attention to the reaction of the most numerous public organization in terms of membership. How do you assess relations between trade unions and the government? Are you satisfied with them? [Goncharik] I am dissatisfied because I believe that the results of our dialogue could have been weightier. This will be possible only when the government reviews its economic and social policies, and introduces serious corrections to the latter in accordance with our postulates. We have certain accomplishments, but soaring prices and inflation only nullify them. For example, on New Year's eve, we were informed of the planned threefold increase in prices for dairy products and municipal services. This is being done when enterprises face work stoppages and workers are not being paid. The Trade Union Federation Presidium called a session and adopted an appeal in protest against these measures. The government backed out and the price increase was postponed. We understand that the postponement is temporary, but given the fact that the Supreme Soviet has rejected our proposal to establish the minimum wage of 35,000 rubles as of 1 December, our fight was not futile. [Nikolaychik] Do you correct your strategy and slogans taking into account the experience of your struggle? [Goncharik] You might have noticed that the federation has altered its position -- while maintaining our economic claims we have decided to concentrate our efforts on resolving more global issues. Some branch trade unions are demanding wage increases. However, without making our production more efficient, this measure will only fuel inflation and become a heavy burden on all of society. Competent legislation is one of the factors that can facilitate the development of production. In light of this, we are actively working at Supreme Soviet sessions along with industrialists and entrepreneurs drafting documents regulating taxation and favorable credits. Discussions are under way regarding the adoption of a general agreement between the government, trade unions, and employees. In particular, we have agreed to include in this document |
FBIS3-23775_5 | Official on Unemployment Situation in Tallinn, Other Cities | card. Quite frankly, we experienced a veritable onslaught. The reason was quite simple: Starting in September there was compensation for heating costs, and the unemployed were covered by a free medical plan. [Olshak] Who is the typical unemployed person today, so to speak? Who has the least likelihood of finding a job: women, people with a higher education? [Zakharov] Our studies indicate that the first cuts affected engineering and technical personnel, but now most of the unemployed are people without an education. If a person does not have a specialty, is not fluent in Estonian, and is uneducated, he will have difficulty finding work. Others having difficulty are people of pre-pension age--those who will be retiring in five years or sooner. Employers prefer young workers. In Tallinn these older individuals represented 25 percent of all of the unemployed in the second quarter of last year, the figure had already risen to 40 percent in the third quarter, and we still do not know what happened in the fourth. [Olshak] What about the employers? Who are they? [Zakharov] Last year it became clear that more than half of the employers are in the private sector. They are more likely to trust the labor exchange and make use of its services. Furthermore, competing firms are even willing to spend some money to find a good worker. State structures, on the other hand, are still hiring people either on someone's recommendation or on the basis of some other kind of affiliation. This practice is frequently counterproductive. [Olshak] Are there really any state enterprises left that are hiring people instead of just letting them go? [Zakharov] Yes, there are. Some examples are the railroad, the Port of Tallinn, and some large plants. We are happy about the recovery of the Baltic Shipbuilding Plant. It will be hiring around 100 people, but these will be specialists, and not just people with no particular profession. I hope that in this case we will be able to demonstrate our ability to act as good partners. We want to satisfy the plant's requirements, and we are willing to arrange for the instruction or training of the workers the plant needs. [Olshak] Unemployment benefits now amount to 180 kroon. Do you expect an increase? [Zakharov] That is a difficult question. Today these benefits and earnings from temporary jobs produce the same income as some permanent positions. Besides this, we |
FBIS3-23782_2 | Privatization Progress Reviewed | more difficult working conditions, compared to those of foreign companies. It is not something that most people cherish. Russian capital, for one, has been very eager to supplement, and to dilute, our capital. The only way to minimize that is to attract Western investors. In the course of privatization, someone's interests and rights are always being stepped on. Partially, this is true, of course. Sudden changes will always violate someone's rights but, due to the significance of the process, one must proceed without slowing down. These problems, too, will have to be solved either on the run, or put off until such damages can be assessed, and the state in a position to compensate for them out of the earnings stemming from privatization. Why Is Rapid Privatization an Economic Necessity? Privatization is necesary because: 1) Even in principle, the state cannot properly handle the business side of an enterprise, not to mention a weak state like Estonia; 2) The state cannot vouch for the preservation of assets, not to mention for increasing them; 3) The national treasury does not collect enough taxes from state enterprises. State enterprises are being subsidized from tax liabilities, putting private enterprises at a disadvantage; 4) Due to lack of supervision, economic crimes are being committed; 5) Due to lack of supervision, privatization through unauthorized acquisitions of property can be attempted with the help of the bankruptcy law and bond agreements; 6) There is a reluctance to invest in state enterprises and, if and when it happens, it is done at a considerable disadvantage to that state enterprise; 7) State enterprises are many, and that makes it impossible for the state and the ministries to deal with the tasks that shape the economy of the state (economic policy, tax policy, financial policy). Instead, a half-hearted effort is usually made to assume the role of the owner. It is difficult, however, to maintain both roles, that of being the owner and that of prescribing norms to regulate itself. A Dental Drill Can Scare Off Anyone To the Estonian media, and through it also to the general public, privatization has so far been like a dental drill that will scare off anyone. Just the sight of a drill can make you forget the pain that brought you to the dentist's office. One also gets used to the pain. This is why it is important that someone assume the |
FBIS3-23784_8 | Official Comments on New Election Law | the requirements of Articles 8 and 9. Besides, let us hope that political organizations will intensively monitor one another in the course of the election struggle. Our commission intends to approach relevant institutions involved in the investigation of the crimes of the totalitarian regime with a request to publish in the official newspaper of the country a staff list of the employees of the former KGB, so that these people will be known and will not be able to be nominated as candidates for deputy in a self-government election. However, a special decree of the Saeima is necessary for this measure to be taken. Besides, it should be passed before the nomination of candidates for deputy. [DIYENA] Are there plans to pass any more laws associated with self-government elections before the beginning of the election campaign? [Lagzdins] The notion of "voter association" was not defined in the course of the previous Saeima election. Article 15 now states that such associations are formed by individuals who have signed lists of candidates plus individuals announced on candidate lists. Consequently, voter associations in volosts will not be numerically smaller than 20 people, in large cities--about 50 people, and in Riga--about 110 people. We are planning to endow these voter associations with greater rights in the future. At present, I am developing a draft law that calls for granting individuals who sign lists of candidates for deputy the right to propose a recall of so-called undisciplined deputies. For example, a deputy elected to a duma or council decides to switch from his faction to another faction. What is to be done about him? To date, there has not been a law that granted us the right to recall this deputy. The developed draft provides that two-thirds of the persons who have signed the candidate list are entitled to approach the relevant city, rayon, or volost electoral commission with a proposal to recall the deputy in question. The electoral commission will consider the petition, verify documentation associated with the election, and put the issue of recall to a vote within one month through procedures envisaged in the law. If no fewer than one-half of the voters who previously voted for the list in question in the electoral district in question vote in favor of the recall, the deputy will be considered recalled. This draft should also become law before the beginning of the election campaign. |
FBIS3-23822_11 | Fedorov Comments on Financial Policies | Exchange. What is all this about? Did they fail to envision that the exchange rate at foreign exchange stores may differ from the rate at the trading session by more than a few percentage points? Did they officially authorize robbery? B. Fedorov. As early as 1991 I told Gaydar's guys that elementary rules should have been introduced at first when currency exchange bureaus opened in a country lacking culture in certain operations, in a country that had monopolies. Say, the selling rate of foreign exchange in exchange bureaus or shops should not have exceeded that on the exchange by more than 5 percent. We proposed this, but it was not accepted. However, the Central Bank may introduce this within three seconds without a problem. G. Tsitrinyak. Then why has the Central Bank not introduced it so far? After all, shoes can wait, but when one needs drugs.... B. Fedorov. I would undertake to put this question to Gerashchenko. O. Moroz. What do you think about the nonpayments crisis, and what way out do you see? B. Fedorov. One should not promise more than one has. In this instance, no knowledge of monetarism is required. The unpaid sums are a myth which is associated with one point: If the president and the prime minister of a state consider it possible to spend as much as they want and for whatever purposes they want, apart from the approved budget and its items of expenditure, the budget will certainly be busted. I even tried to explain to the government: "If you go shopping you cannot spend more than you have in your wallet...." Meanwhile, the state considers it possible to live any which way. Agrarian lobbyists forced through the grain price, plus repairs to the White House, plus 250 billion for the elections, and so on, and so forth. The Ministry of Finance had not built all of that into the budget. Naturally, there was no spare money; it was taken away from someone. Besides, to a considerable degree, legislation made it possible not to pay; there was no mechanism for bankruptcy, nor were there bankruptcies. Not a single director was relieved. In general, the lack of an industrial policy was the greatest mistake of the year 1993, just as it is now. There were many industrialists in the government, but there was no industrial policy because everybody wanted to work on finance |
FBIS3-23823_18 | Yeltsin Experts on Future Orientation in Economy Protection of National Economic Interests and the New Foreign Political Doctrine | providing adequate support. Thus the opening of foreign markets for Russian goods was predetermined by an objective process, and it directly involves the interests of tens of thousands of enterprises and millions of their workers. All these people are real or potential bearers of the ideology of Russia's entry into the world market. Such mass support and interest means that Russian goods will definitely go on to the world market. The only question is whether this will be sooner or later, in civilized or savage forms, and because of the government or in spite of it. With their votes, their work, and their resources these people and their enterprises are capable of giving real support to the government that carries out this task. Conversely, indecisiveness, delays, and especially disregard for this problem by the government will actively place them in opposition and force them to seek other channels, bypassing the current authorities, for integration into the world economy, and also to rely on other political forces. Consequently, success in solving foreign political problems will make an essential contribution to the development of the domestic political situation. This is one of the factors that form the social base of the reforms and the reformers, which determine the credit of confidence and support we have for conducting our policy. The solution to the problem of entry into the world market hinges mainly on inadequate foreign political support. The reorientation of foreign policy toward priority partnership with the leading developed countries, which has taken place in recent years, has certain shortcomings along with its obvious merits. There has been a sharp reduction of Russia's presence in traditional foreign markets (for example, the countries of Eastern Europe and the Near East), and the potential for cooperation with developing and new industrial countries (South Korea, Taiwan) is being inadequately utilized. At the same time, relations between Russia and the West are developing asymmetrically at the present time. The developed countries are not at all inclined to allow Russia into international markets in response to the development of political cooperation. Our partners consistently protect the interests of their producers from Russian competition, and Western countries are preserving discriminatory measures against Russian goods and preventing their penetration into their own markets and even into the markets of "third countries" (an example is the memorable story of the delivery of rocket engines to India). The developed countries are |
FBIS3-23823_20 | Yeltsin Experts on Future Orientation in Economy Protection of National Economic Interests and the New Foreign Political Doctrine | Europe and the Near East), and the potential for cooperation with developing and new industrial countries (South Korea, Taiwan) is being inadequately utilized. At the same time, relations between Russia and the West are developing asymmetrically at the present time. The developed countries are not at all inclined to allow Russia into international markets in response to the development of political cooperation. Our partners consistently protect the interests of their producers from Russian competition, and Western countries are preserving discriminatory measures against Russian goods and preventing their penetration into their own markets and even into the markets of "third countries" (an example is the memorable story of the delivery of rocket engines to India). The developed countries are applying antidumping measures against Russian goods and introducing prohibitive duties on our products (for example, 104 percent on deliveries of ferrosilicon from Russia to the United States). The quotas assigned to Russia in many cases are linked to deliveries from the CIS as a whole, which aggravates relations within the framework of the Commonwealth because of the distribution of these quotas. And the amounts of the quotas are frequently ridiculous. According to the data of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations, say, for sheet metal the quota of the European communities for Bulgaria is 53,000 tonnes, for Romania--45,000 tonnes, and for all of the CIS--49,000 tonnes. Italy allows the shipment from Russia of nine (!) engines, 29 motorcycles, etc. These political restrictions cannot be removed by purely economic methods. It is necessary to have a consistent and firm policy of protection of national economic interests that is enforced in all foreign political activity. This pertains both to cooperation with Western states and to the restoration of mutually advantageous trade and economic ties with the former socialist countries and to political support for Russia's entry into the markets of developing and new industrial countries with competitive and highly technological goods, machines and equipment, and raw and processed materials. Thus political support must play a decisive role in the restoration of Russian exports and their distribution in new foreign markets. This problem is not being resolved effectively enough today. It is necessary to adopt and consistently implement a new foreign political doctrine that protects Russia's national interests. It is important to find a form in which foreign policy would reflect in a balanced way both the political and the economic interests of our country. |
FBIS3-23825_3 | Petrakov on Academicians' Economic Reform Strategy | employment threshold, share of expenditures for education and health services in the GNP structure, and others)"; "to reject the naive belief in the automatism of improving the economy with the help of depersonalized monetarism and to restore state regulation in its natural and generally accepted functions"; "to switch to new principles of financial stabilization on the basis of combining a tough financial-credit policy with selective support of priority spheres and production, use of various forms of regulation of prices and incomes (including the help of establishing price parities, cartel agreements, etc.), and perfection of tax and budget policy." [Pomelova] Nikolay Yakovlevich, ex-minister Boris Fedorov in his last statement appealed to the president with the statement that an economic overturn is occurring in the country. Do you agree with such a categorical assertion? [Petrakov] In my opinion, the government is now in a certain rigidity: It either faces a change, or it faces a "revolution." But this is not the point. I do not entirely understand Fedorov's position, also Gaydar's and Chubays'--in a word, people of a reformist inclination who steered the economic ship of our country. What do the macroeconomic methods they employed represent? Two levers were engaged in the fight against inflation. First, a sharp reduction in the expenditure part of the budget. Second, the same kind of sharp increase in taxes. Everything is "transparent," as in school: In order to finance the budget, it is necessary to reduce expenditures and increase taxes. This is the essence of "shock therapy" in the Russian rendition. Moreover, it is proposed that we go further on this same simple path. Now, let us take a look at what happens with expenditures. Really, expenditures are compressed to all reasonable and unreasonable limits. Moreover, reasonableness in the reduction of expenditures already exhausted itself in the first half of 1992. Further, the reduction was already some kind of irrational number. As a result, all budgetary spheres fell into poverty. Education, culture, science, and health services--wages for workers there were lower by a factor of three to eight than in industry, not to mention commerce. Or let us take another method, which was used by Minister of Finance Fedorov in fighting inflation. This is nonpayment for purchased products. It became a tradition to rebuke agriculture for the fact that it made requests. But let us analyze this: People were told that products were being bought from |
FBIS3-23826_8 | Yasin Analyzes Economic Reform Program | R120,000 not long ago. Think of it, we had 30 percent of the world value at one point. Now it has dropped to 80,000! For this reason, it is vitally important for us that the TEK [fuel and power complex] stand on its own feet. This is why I believe that freezing prices for energy resources is essentially a conservative idea. I do not think we can follow this path. Some control is possible, but not so that it interferes with the process of shaping the new relative prices. The program states that the process under way is making the structure of the Russian economy heavier, while structural reorganization is moving in exactly the opposite direction. Can we avoid this or not? Let us assume we were now undertaking, in conformity with the canons and our way of thinking in the 1970's, to restructure the production structure this way: by giving more to the consumer sector, less to the extractive industry, and more to machinebuilding, as in the years of acceleration. Is this correct? I have serious doubts about this. The consumer sector. In itself it is not needed, but it has been called upon to provide the public with inexpensive, high-quality commodities. But very often the imported products turn out to be better than the domestic ones and more preferable for the consumer. I do not know what kind of sector will survive in the consumer sector, but there is simply no sense in protecting everything in succession. For this reason, the thesis about making the economy heavier, as a reproach and indication that some problem is increasing, is really unconvincing. It seems to me this reflects the ideology of the 1970's, when we assumed that perestroyka would take place within a closed Russian economy. But now we do not even know exactly those strong aspects which will make their appearance, and how the structure of the Russian economy will take shape. Moreover, very positive structural shifts in the country are clearly apparent. Trade and the banking and monetary sectors are developing rapidly. Not everyone likes this. In this case we say that everything is going into middleman operations, but we need real production. From the viewpoint of Marxist theory, this is correct, perhaps. However, trade and banking also produce a gross domestic product, generally speaking. And if capital has been channeled here now, it means it is more |
FBIS3-23830_1 | Changes in Tax, Budget Strategy Under Consideration Russian Authorities in Search of Budget Revenues: Reliance on Rent Payments World Theory and Practice of the Utilization of Rent Payments in State Finances | securities (3 percent of the value of the transaction); --Replacement of income and profit tax with a consumption tax to be paid by legal entities. The establishment of a standard rate of value added tax in the amount of 10 percent. [end box] A radical change in the tax-budget strategy of the Russian authorities is becoming increasingly probable. Having discovered the ineffectiveness of the utilization of the existing tax system to resolve the budget crisis, leaders of both federal and local governments do not rule out the possibility, in a certain stage, of resorting to a reduction of traditional taxes and making rent payments the main source of budget revenues. This is shown by the attention paid by specialists of the Government of Russia and also the Governments of Moscow and St. Petersburg to proposals contained in the report received yesterday from experts of the Central Economics and Mathematics Institute, "Basic Directions for the Formation of the Economic Policy." The thrust of the report is to rely on rent payments for replenishing the state budget. It is significant that among the authors of the report is the chairman of one of the key parliamentary committees, the Committee of the State Duma on Economic Policy--Sergey Glazyev. The prospects of legislative support for these ideas make it crucial to analyze the possibilities of such an adjustment to the economic policy. Russian Authorities in Search of Budget Revenues: Reliance on Rent Payments The attempts on the part of Russian authorities and academic circles to find some nontraditional sources for radically increasing budget revenues are quite natural. Surmounting the crisis of state finances is officially considered to be almost the main objective of the economic reforms in Russia. It is especially significant that this is insisted upon by international financial circles, which proceed from the idea that without improvement in its financial system Russia will hardly be able to surmount the economic crisis and resolve the problem of its foreign indebtedness. It is significant that at the present time in the Russian economic policy methods of achieving financial stability through reducing budget expenditures are losing popularity--since the reduction of budget aid to key branches in the social sphere, as has become obvious, leads to an extremely significant increase in sociopolitical tension. Therefore main attention is drawn to an idea that has gained popularity recently, which is that it is possible to resolve the problem |
FBIS3-23838_0 | Goskomstat Statistics for Economy in January 1994 | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [INTERFAX-SEGODNYA report: "The Russian Economy in the Beginning of 1994"] [Text] According to the Russian Federation [RF] Goskomstat [State Committee for Statistics], in January Russian industry produced more than 15 trillion rubles' [R] worth of output in current prices. However, the physical volume of production continued to decline. As compared to the first month of last year, it declined in January by 23.1 percent. The total industrial output also declined considerably as compared to the level of December 1993--by 17.2 percent. The volume of industrial production in Russia continues to slide unrestrainedly. According to RF Goskomstat data, in January 1994 it declined by 23.1 percent as compared to last year's January. The industrial output was 17.2 percent below that for December 1993. While production in fuel and power generation sectors and nonferrous metallurgy declined by only 5-9 percent as compared to January 1993, in most processing sectors the scale of decline has been much greater. In light and food-processing industry production declined by 19-28 percent. In the sectors producing producer goods, the scale of decline in the volume of production ranges from 23 percent in ferrous metallurgy to 28-35 percent in construction materials, chemical and petrochemical, and timber, woodworking, and pulp and paper industries, and 52 percent in machine building. Nevertheless, the general trend toward shrinking production has not affected all sectors. For instance, the volume of gas production increased somewhat in January of this year (by 0.1 percent) as compared to January 1993 and amounted to 57.2 billion cubic meters. There was a 1-7 percent increase in the output of foundry machines, buses, refrigerators and freezers, and multipurpose kitchen machines. According to Goskomstat data, there were no flax-harvesting combines, forge-press machines with numeric program control, or magnetic tape produced in the first month of 1994. Foodstuffs and consumer goods prices, as well as fees for consumer services in Russia, continued to rise in January. As reported by the RF Goskomstat, prices in the consumer market rose overall by 21.4 percent, including those for foodstuffs--by 21.1 percent, nonfood items--by 12.5 percent, and for-fee services--by 73.8 percent. In organized trade, the greatest price rises have been registered with respect to milk and milk products, bread and bakery items--by 34-35 percent, as well as eggs--by 23 percent. Prices for potatoes and vegetables rose by 22 percent. Prices for meat and meat products, cereals, and pasta items went up |
FBIS3-23841_1 | Regional Enterprise Heads on Production Problems, Economy Vologda Oblast | models, while the prices were much lower. We even went so far as to set up an SP [joint venture] with one of the West German firms. However, the new manufacturing line soon turned out to be paralyzed: the customers did not have the money to pay for the orders. The promising production was stopped. A similar fate also befell the second conversion direction -- the output of products for the agroindustrial complex and the emerging private farming. At first, our mini-bakeries, bakers' cabinets, equipment for making soft ice cream, mini-mills, mini-curers and many other things, which we had managed to master in short, record time frames, were a big success. But, as the saying goes, the music soon stopped. Because of the insolvency of the agrarians and also the disheartened farmers, it became necessary to curtail this production as well. Our hopes rested on goods closely resembling basic types of products, but used for civilian purposes. There were binoculars and telescopes with day and night vision, sights for hunting rifles and the like. We also started producing mini-ATXs [automatic telephone exchange] for office equipment. Special plans were drawn up for the production of mini-GESs [hydroelectric power stations] with up to 10 kilowatts of capacity. Next would be mini-GESs with up to 50 kilowatts of capacity. It need hardly be said how important this equipment is for making up the energy shortage, especially on remote and nearly inaccessible farms. Such an installation can even fully supply a small village or farmstead. And on an ecologically clean basis. A small river or brook is sufficient in order to obtain the needed power. These products are especially promising for Central Asia, where there are a lot of streams with a large level difference. And orders for them began to come in. But alas, even this direction was not fated to survive on the crest of the reformers' experiments. The complicated political and, later, financial relations with the Union's former republics reduced to zilch the collective's highly promising plan. No, no one will dare reproach us for inactivity or shirking when faced with difficulties. Even after so many reverses, we did not lose heart and continued to look for opportunities to rescue the enterprise's economic structure. Literally over 9 months, we organized the production of complicated domestic equipment -- microwave ovens, vegetable dehydrators and the like. And we did this again on a |
FBIS3-23848_5 | Declining Soil Fertility Worries Agrarians Attempts to Counteract Erosion in Virgin Lands | over 20 million hectares, that is, on virtually all the virgin land regions, and to stop wind erosion there. Moreover, the use of these implements increased the grain crop yield by an average of two to five quintals per hectare. This is because preserving the plant remnants contributes to snow retention, and consequently to increasing the moisture in the soil. The developers of the equipment were awarded the Lenin Prize in 1972. At the same time, the operation of the first subsurface cultivators and other machines convinced us of the need for their further improvement. As more and more new areas were plowed, more productive and reliable equipment was required. In addition to VIM, associates of the Special Design Bureau for Anti-Erosion Equipment (GSKB PET), created in Tselinograd in 1965, with the participation of specialists from VISKhOM [All-Union Agricultural Machine Building Scientific Research Institute], VNIIZKh [All-Union Grain Farming Scientific Research Institute] and KazNIIMESKh [Agricultural Mechanization and Electrification Scientific Research Institute of the Northwest USSR], were attached to the work. Through their joint efforts, a set of second-generation machines, which included 20 descriptions, was successfully designed. The farms of the virgin land regions began to receive the KPSh-9 and KPSh-11 wide swath subsurface cultivators. Their swath width is respectively 9 and 11 meters, which is several times more than that of their predecessors. The output of harrows, grain erosion drills, snowplow-swath collectors and other machines distinguished by both high reliability and by a wider swath, was also developed. For instance, the BMSh-15 and BMSh-20 type harrow-hoes are capable of tilling a strip of land 15 and 20 meters wide. The fact that, by that time high-power tractors such as the T-150, K-700 and K-701 had been developed and produced, contributed to widescale use of this powerful equipment. There was no longer any need to use clumsy tractor hitches. Labor productivity more than doubled. The main result was that wind erosion was conquered. The volume of soil-protective technology introduced rose considerably. This made it possible to obtain an additional 13-15 million tonnes of grain a year. The group of scientists and specialists -- the creators of the second-generation machines and implements -- were awarded the State Prize in 1988. Among them were L. Kim, A. Buryakov, A. Gribanovskiy, G. Kuzmin, V. Suchkov and others. Work is now continuing on improving the subsurface equipment. The task lies in creating ecologically safe, as specialists |
FBIS3-23858_1 | Homeless People on Rise, Social System Unable To Cope With Problem | facility itself, which is precisely this figure. An ordinary Moscow citizen, however, can draw only one conclusion from his own observations: the number of beggars and homeless on Moscow streets and underground crossings is growing steadily from year to year. It is especially noticeable in the winter. In the summer, free to move away from central heating pipes and unlocked basements, the inhabitants of the capital city's foul places fan out to Russian nooks and crannies, only to return a few months later, in somewhat better shape, to the capital for the winter. In that same Moscow holding facility out-of-towners--a questionable definition as applied to the homeless--account for 72 percent of its clients. The state that once proclaimed the slogan "Everything in the name of the people, everything for the good of the people" has now found itself unable to pay even minimal attention to vagrants. In 1991 Russia repealed the article in the criminal code that stipulated a penalty for vagrancy and begging. A democratic measure at first glance--each person is free to live the lifestyle he desires--in reality it only worsened the situation. Having stopped persecuting those who by all laws of humanity need support rather than punishment, it has not offered anything instead. A system of aid to those who have hit the social bottom was never set up, and thousands of people who found themselves not only below the poverty line but also outside of normal human existence were now completely left to their own devices. Left unattended, the illness progressed rapidly, however, and in the end it became impossible to ignore it any longer. The first to sound the alarm were Moscow health care practitioners. Thousands of homeless that flooded the streets dramatically exacerbated the health and hygiene situation in the capital and became walking carriers of the most dangerous diseases. The first case of cholera in Moscow in many years, in which the disease turned out to be caused by local sources rather than brought in from other regions, was diagnosed last year in a homeless man. Research shows that each Moscow vagrant carries a bouquet of five or six diseases. Almost 100 percent of homeless suffer from pediculosis, or, to put it plainly, infestation with lice. The same goes for tuberculosis. As early as the middle of 1992 a calculation was presented to the collegium of Russia's Ministry of Health Care, according to |
FBIS3-23858_2 | Homeless People on Rise, Social System Unable To Cope With Problem | it has not offered anything instead. A system of aid to those who have hit the social bottom was never set up, and thousands of people who found themselves not only below the poverty line but also outside of normal human existence were now completely left to their own devices. Left unattended, the illness progressed rapidly, however, and in the end it became impossible to ignore it any longer. The first to sound the alarm were Moscow health care practitioners. Thousands of homeless that flooded the streets dramatically exacerbated the health and hygiene situation in the capital and became walking carriers of the most dangerous diseases. The first case of cholera in Moscow in many years, in which the disease turned out to be caused by local sources rather than brought in from other regions, was diagnosed last year in a homeless man. Research shows that each Moscow vagrant carries a bouquet of five or six diseases. Almost 100 percent of homeless suffer from pediculosis, or, to put it plainly, infestation with lice. The same goes for tuberculosis. As early as the middle of 1992 a calculation was presented to the collegium of Russia's Ministry of Health Care, according to which an estimated 40,000 homeless with an open form of tuberculosis were roaming the country. The number of homeless in the country certainly has not declined since then, and, in the opinion of physicians, this was the main factor contributing to the fact that the curve of incidence of tuberculosis in the country has headed sharply upward. Finally, the problem that had already become a plague of big cities was noticed at the top. On 2 November 1993, Edict of the President of Russia No. 1815 "On Measures of Prevention of Vagrancy and Begging" was issued; a month later it was duplicated by a Moscow Government decree of the same name. These documents could have come out much earlier, but the fathers of the nation, busy with important state affairs, fly on airplanes and almost never happen to pass through a railway station, and one cannot really see from the window of a government limousine the horror that is taking place today in underground crossings and around subway stations. However, whether even these belated directives will be carried out is unclear. According to the Government of Moscow decree, two branches of the holding facility, each with the capacity to accommodate |
FBIS3-23860_0 | VAZ Plant Motor Vehicle Production Resumes | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Interview with Mikhail Dobyndo, deputy director of Body-Assembly Production of the Volga Passenger Vehicle Production Association, by Sergey Bystrov, TRUD correspondent: "VAZ After Conveyor Start-Up"] [Text] The second work week at AvtoVAZ this year ended today. Only the second, because the motor vehicle giant delayed the start for a whole month. This was a mild shock to the country. But what about the plant? In general, what awaits it, its motor vehicles and our motor vehicle fans? Our TRUD correspondent interviews Mikhail Dobyndo, deputy director of body-assembly production of the Volga Passenger Vehicle Production Association. [Bystrov] Mikhail Nikolayevich, the future of AvtoVAZ is, after all, the future of all our passenger vehicle building as well. We suddenly learn that our motor vehicle giant, perhaps even as a surprise to itself, is begining to stumble. What has happened to it? [Dobyndo] As the person responsible for the direct finished output of motor vehicles, and as deputy production director, I would in this situation still single VAZ out from the complex of problems which exist around us as a whole today. We stood idle for a month, fearing that complications might arise with the start-up of the equipment, because the conveyor had never before been shut down for such a long time. For planned repair work, for two to three days -- of course. But this was for a month. The conveyor came to a standstill. Large-scale repair work on it was in full swing -- it was being modernized. Naturally, we feared for the control system: it was easy to disturb it and hard to put it right, and we also feared some sort of unexpected losses. This does happen. Nevertheless, we started it up successfully and did the entire program for a whole week. I don't remember having done a program for a whole week running like that in the last five or six years. Last Saturday, we even had to shut down the conveyor 45 minutes early, so that we would not put out superfluous motor vehicles. This indicates that the plant has lost nothing on the organizational-technical plane. It has not lost its traditions or its stability, and most important -- has not lost its people. The plant will operate -- we have no doubt of that. As for matters linked with price formation, with product sales and with non-payment problems -- they are |
FBIS3-23860_10 | VAZ Plant Motor Vehicle Production Resumes | ones. In the new, modern shops, however, if we succeed in stocking them up, the program for 200,000 motor vehicles a year can be ensured with only about 100 people. In the second place, painting. Today Chrysler, it is true, has just a little less than our capacity, and employs 56 people, but in our plant -- there are almost 800. In the third place, assembly. All modern motor vehicle plants today operate translifts -- self-powered electric bogies, which run on monorails according to their own program. There are none of these pusher conveyors, no weighting of structures and no interweaving of conveyors aloft or unnecessary service personnel. There must be translifts, because one can't manage without them, even though the principle of the conveyor remains the same as in our plant, for even in the West they have not been able to think up anything better. On the other hand, though, "wheeled technology" has long been in existence there. That is, there are no warehouse facilities. The transport unit which delivered the completing items to the conveyor is the warehouse. [Bystrov] There was a time when you delivered completing items by air. This kind of "wheeled technology," however, is a very expensive pleasure. [Dobyndo] Right now, unfortunately, the situation is the same. We use planes and helicopters. This is where the expense lies, and we should by all means eliminate it. [Bystrov] The problem of supplies of completing items is in general a sore point for any plant. As far as we can see, mass losses of suppliers are taking place these days. Won't you also have to lose them or change them? [Dobyndo] It is not that easy to change suppliers today, even if you feel like it. Those same bundles of electric wires from Kamenets-Podolskiy. The motor vehicle plant's currency funds were invested there, and all the cooperation ensuring the output of these bundles is directed there today. What does it mean to organize this type of production all over again today, let us say, in Russia? A lot of time and capital. Is it necessary? International cooperation is branching out all over the world. I do not think that we have to take a different path. Our plant always had the policy: develop our own suppliers, in order to raise the level of the motor vehicle as a whole. It is simply senseless to lose what |
FBIS3-23874_16 | Tatarstan President Views Treaty Prospect | is going a different way? [Shaymiyev] The adjustments have already been made. We have now released prices on many commodities. Did you notice, come to that, that we now have the lowest prices for bread, milk, and dairy products in Russia? [Vladina] A very marked difference! Although there are goods that are more expensive. [Shaymiyev] The dairy products and bread are cheaper thanks to subsidies. These foods should be affordable to everyone. We are releasing the prices of other types of food, as in neighboring regions also. But an entirely different policy is being implemented here today: A program of targeted social protection of the populace has been activated. A very serious office has been created. We have converted one of our institutes furnished with computer equipment and possessing experienced personnel into a social studies and social problems center. A methods system according to which not a single person must find himself below the poverty line has been devised. According to the data bank, the information--this includes the consumer basket, several types of budget, minimum included, the subsistence minimum, definition of each stratum of the population by income, and so forth--is checked weekly (not monthly!). It has been hard work, but we have done a good thing, because it is now known with what and how each family is living. It is on the basis of this information that we adopt the social protection measures. Thus, each child, regardless of whether he is an urban or rural inhabitant, is specifically protected here now. There is protection also for retirees, who receive a pension according to our procedure: If the pension is small, it is raised to the subsistence minimum. [Vladina] And what is the subsistence minimum here? [Shaymiyev] It changes weekly, but has to be sufficient to ensure not even a subsistence--we have now adopted a somewhat higher plank--a social minimum, which includes the cost not only of foodstuffs but also the apartment charge, utilities, the purchase of basic necessities. [Vladina] Do retirees travel free here? [Shaymiyev] Thus far, yes. [Vladina] It is said in Moscow that Tatarstan is behind in its payment of taxes to the federal coffers and that this is why it is better off. Is this right? [Shaymiyev] No. We have now settled the tax affairs, having signed in the fourth quarter with the Russian Federation an agreement with which we are complying. But we have |
FBIS3-23901_1 | Terrorists Planned Attack on Sobchak | is being divided into spheres of influence; there have been recorded attempts on the part of the criminal capital to acquire blocks of stock of a number of commercial banks and objects undergoing privatization. Administration personnel have identified and foiled activities of five criminal groups attempting to steal about 4 billion rubles [R] from city banks using forged documents. They also foiled the illegal sale of almost 5,000 units of firearms, and derailed the sale to a commercial structure of 5,000 smooth-bore rifles and 200 handguns. As was noted at the briefing, more than 1.5 million units of unregistered rifled firearms are currently in the hands of the Russian population. Also, while in the past such firearms had been mostly home-made, now the situation has changed--they are mainly factory-made arms, Western-made as a rule. The "leader" is the TT handgun made in China. Eighty-five bombs went off in the city in 1993, killing eight persons and injuring 29. "I will not be surprised if, having finished dividing property between criminal groups, the same groups start dividing political power," Aleksandr Kuznetsov said at the briefing. Another problem for law enforcement organs is smuggling. Last year as a result of Operation Trawl, the guardians of security returned to the state more than 2,500 tonnes of nonferrous metals, 6,000 tonnes of petroleum products, about 22,000 cubic meters of timber, and other goods worth a total of R5 billion. Unfortunately, this work is not effective enough because of the poor material and technical support of customs and border services on the border with Estonia. There is a widespread practice of bribing customs officials. Criminals use all sorts of transportation, including military transport aircraft. Contraband cargo is escorted by armed guards, who frequently consist of military servicemen and militia personnel, who more than once resisted representatives of authority and law enforcement organs. In conclusion the head of the FCS administration, Viktor Cherkesov, reported that recertification of personnel is expected to be completed before the end of March. Because the investigative department in the service has been abolished, the administration is switching to a new staff structure, while criminal cases currently under investigation have been transferred to the Procuracy. "There is no question that after the Ministry of Security was abolished, the ranks of the Petersburg administration got thinner. But our agency is not going to turn into a relic--we will continue working," said Viktor Cherkesov. |
FBIS3-23905_0 | News From St Petersburg Oblast Reports Unemployment Figures | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Article by P. Chugunov: "Unemployment Will Grow"] [Text] A rapid increase in unemployment is reported by the oblast committee on labor after analyzing last year's figures. For the oblast as a whole, unemployment increased by a factor of more than 1.5 as compared with 1992. The oblast's eighteen employment offices registered a total of 27,400 unemployed during the year. In January, as compared with December, the number almost doubled. As for the rayons specifically, the ones that proved to be in the most alarming situation were the most industrially developed ones. In Podporozhskiy Rayon the unemployment level passed the 10-percent mark, reaching 11.5 percent; in Tikhvinskiy Rayon it came to 6.6 percent; in Kirishskiy Rayon, 5 percent; and in Priozerskiy Rayon, almost 4 percent. The rayons that proved to be in the best situation in this regard were Luzhskoy Rayon, where 473 unemployed were registered; and Lodeynopolskiy Rayon, 553. Last year almost 25,000 unemployed received unemployment benefits throughout the entire period and were unable to find suitable work. A total of 480 persons took the risk and underwent training or retraining in areas suggested by the employment service, thus increasing their competitive capability in the job market. But, unfortunately, it must be admitted that currently there are few people like this, who are capable of adapting to the new conditions and want to do so. A very large number of people do not want to change their occupation, even if the employment service pays for their retraining and gives them a stipend during the entire training period. Among the reasons for being unemployed, the predominant one is "personal reasons," 44 persons. Only 24 percent are people who were laid off from enterprises or organizations as a result of reduction in forces, reorganization, or the elimination of the enterprise. Sixty-two percent of the unemployed in the oblast are women,and in Luzhskoy and Tosnenskiy rayons and in Sosnovyy Bor, the figure is as high as 90 percent. As for age, almost every third unemployed person is a young person between the age of 16 and 30 years. With regard to social makeup, the predominant group is people with working occupations (as many as 66 percent), and only 34 percent are white-collar workers. In 1994 it is expected that the number of unemployed will increase in most of the rayons in the oblast. And, for the labor market as |
FBIS3-23906_7 | News From St Petersburg City MVD Chief Interviewed | work performed by the guards. Very frequently he discovered people there who were wearing the militia uniform, but it turned out after the appropriate check that only one-third of them were our people. The others were employees of private guard agencies who had put on the militia uniform. [Potapenko] Guard companies are another sign of the times. Has the GUVD [Main Administration of Internal Affairs] found a common language with them? [Kramarev] There was a period when no one paid any attention to those structures. Today we are just beginning to establish smooth interactions, and have begun to issue licenses to them. But I shall state frankly that the hopes that they will help us to establish order are melting from day to day. Very frequently, even the most respectable ones prove to be mixed up in criminal misdeeds. [Potapenko] Arkadiy Grigoryevich, why is it that the most important criminal cases, in which we are dealing with gangsterism or corruption in the highest echelons of power, are investigated so slowly, or simply "disintegrate" on the way to court? [Kramarev] Our jurisprudence now contains laws that do not exist in any other country. Here is just one situation. When the investigation is actually completed, we acquaint the accused with all the materials pertaining to the case, where it is stated in detail which witness said what, what his home address and place of work are, how many children he has and what school they attend. The accused individual studies all of this diligently, sometimes for months (the law does not limit him in this regard). The next act in this farce is the official request by the defense to have the restrictive measures imposed on the accused changed to his signed agreement not to leave the city. And so suspects are frequently released even if they are accused of gangsterism. Should one be surprised that, when the case comes to court, the witnesses unanimously change their depositions, asserting that the investigative employees had exerted an influence on them? All these problems are by no means infrequent. Because of them, a large number of criminals are avoiding justice today, and those who are still free are flaunting their impunity. Politicians, if they want to curb crime successfully, must think seriously about this. [Potapenko] At one time, after closing political agencies, the militia proclaimed its independence from ideological predilections. Are you being successful |
FBIS3-23907_0 | St Petersburg News Local Election Format Finalized | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Unattributed report: "Anatoliy Sobchak Decided To Hold Elections to City Assembly in Two Rounds"] [Text] Elections to the St. Petersburg City Assembly will be held in two rounds. This is the main news following from Decree No. 131-r of the St. Petersburg Mayor. On 16 February Anatoliy Sobchak made new changes in and additions to the Statute of Elections to the City Assembly he had authored. In the event more than two candidates are on the ballot in an electoral district and none is elected (that is, does not get more than 50 percent of the ballots cast by the voters participating in the elections), the city electoral commission must make a decision on holding a runoff election in the district, placing on the ballot the two candidates who received the greatest number of votes. The runoff election is held no later than two weeks after the first round. The candidate who receives the greater number of ballots cast by the voters participating in the elections is considered elected. Elections are considered invalid if the number of valid ballots is less than 25 percent of the number of eligible voters, as well as in the event no more than two candidates were on the ballot in the district and neither was elected. In addition, Sobchak made an amendment to Point 4 of Article 2 of the statute, bringing it into compliance with the Russian Constitution. Let us recall that in keeping with this point, members of the Federal Assembly could not be elected to the assembly, while the Constitution applies this prohibition only to State Duma deputies but not to members of the Federation Council, who carry out their duties on a part-time basis. The ban on Federation Council members' becoming assembly deputies was the subject of a complaint by the former city soviet chairman, Aleksandr Belyayev, which is currently being considered by the city court. By making changes in the statute on elections, the mayor partially took into account the pertinent suggestions of the electoral coalitions. The two-round election system will allow to avoid the incidents that occurred in the course of elections to the Federal Assembly. |
FBIS3-23908_2 | St Petersburg News Nominations for Local Elections Complete | of each creature. And it is naive to assume that after the elections they will live in peace and accord, remembering their joint programs. But even during the period of signature collection the eclectic nature of the lists has not brought about the desired effect. A politically aware voter would find a name of one candidate whom for some reason he did not like and--goodbye. A politically unaware voter says goodbye much faster and not always politely... The growing passivity became noticeable back in December. Today it is manifesting itself to the fullest extent. Most of the coalitions insisted on--and got--changes in the statute on elections: They will be conducted in two rounds. This is good, because it precludes the possibility of splitting the vote between candidates with similar programs. On the other hand, sociologists are sounding the alarm: A runoff election may not take place at all. "Why do we need it, this assembly?" many people ask. March 1990 was a time of hope. Placing our faith in the omnipotence of the deputies, we expected of them much more than they could realistically deliver. Much less is expected of the current ones. This is a good time to remember, however, that St. Petersburg is a component of the Russian Federation. In keeping with the Federation Treaty, on a score of vitally important issues the Russian parliament can only adopt basic legislation, leaving the regions the opportunity to finalize it with local conditions in mind. Many matters have been placed completely within the competence of Federation components, and local laws need to be adopted on them. In addition, it is necessary to make adjustments to the existing regulations regarding disposal of land and municipal property and monitor compliance. There is also control over execution of the budget. Dozens of sore issues are awaiting resolution, and the latter depends on who comes to the assembly. I hear sometimes: "Well, let the mayoralty do everything and bear responsibility for everything." These are rather utopian hopes. As already mentioned, a considerable number of norms and rules must be established here, in the city. Are we to allow the executive branch to set them for itself and then oversee itself on compliance? Or hope that there will be a wise King Solomon on each committee, who will resolve disputes fairly? The ability to dispose of property at one's own discretion at best leads to |
FBIS3-23913_0 | News From St Petersburg Election Bloc Leader Interviewed | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Interview with Aleksandr Filippov, leader of the All Petersburg electoral coalition, by NEVSKOYE VREMYA correspondent Irina Lebedeva; place and date not given: "All Petersburg: Let Us Start With an Island"] [Text] The election marathon is already halfway through. Of 35 electoral coalitions 17 have met the requirement of collecting 35,000 signatures and are nominating their members to run for the city assembly. Our correspondent interviewed Aleksandr Filippov, one of the leaders of the All Petersburg electoral coalition. [Lebedeva] Aleksandr Sergeyevich, your bloc's desire to put together a team of professionals willing to take the responsibility for solving the city's key problems is admirable. A considerable share of these problems, however, is decided on a different level. One does not have to go far for examples. As a member of the higher learning community, are you prepared to assume responsibility for the government not fulfilling its obligations to people working in our institutes and universities? [Filippov] There is nothing to justify such a government's actions: Every person must keep his word. Especially persons vested with authority. The state has no right to remove itself from the spheres of life that ensure cultural, moral, intellectual, and physical dignity of the people. Therefore, I am bothered by Petersburg residents' current apathy toward elections to the city assembly. I was born in Leningrad; I love my city and will never agree that our lot, according to Pushkin, is "a yoke with rattles and a whip." How long can we count on rulers? My colleagues in the electoral coalition--finance professionals--have drafted a concrete program for increasing budget revenue and, accordingly, reorientation toward financing of socially significant spheres, including institutions of higher learning. The city as a federation component has been given sufficiently broad powers in matters of culture, education, and health care which we must use, including setting up an influential lobby in the government. I am not talking about pulling a blanket to our side; this is about conceptual things: Throughout the entire world culture, education, and social protection are under the patronage of the society. And it is at the very least irresponsible to leave workers in the nonproduction sphere to the mercy of fate and engage in demagoguery by proposing that they earn a living through commerce. [Lebedeva] You, however, not only chair a department in the Petersburg University, but also are a successful businessman, the head of |
FBIS3-23914_0 | News From St Petersburg Sobchak Adviser on Free Economic Zone | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Report by Lev Golovannik: "Petersburg Cannot Be Fenced In"] [Text] Petersburg cannot be a free economic zone, said the mayor's chief adviser Vatanyar Yagya yesterday at a meeting with journalists in the American-Russian Information Press Center. In his opinion, the idea--great by itself--could be successfully implemented in our city, and in the form of not one but 22 subzones, the projects for which the mayoralty already has. The potential major subzones are: Kronshtadt, Lomonosov, the airport, and the sea port. Foreign experience shows that a free economic zone should be separated from the rest of the territory of the country, and since it is doubtful that a fence could be put around all of Petersburg, the most appropriate place for it would be Kronshtadt because of its natural stand-alone position. However, as is known, Kronshtadt currently is home to a naval base, and the navy is not happy about having commerce for a neighbor. Vatanyar Yagya believes that the military will not give up Kronshtadt, but we will not have other subzones either until the new State Duma passes a law defining the status of a free economic zone. True, there are already two such zones in Russia--Nakhodka Harbor and Kaliningrad Oblast; however, their legality remains very questionable. At the press conference Vatanyar Saidovich also outlined priority directions along which our city authorities are trying to develop international cooperation. The main directions are the pharmaceutical and food processing industry, as well as transportation support. At this point, for instance, implementation is beginning on an agreement between Petersburg and Cuba for shipment of medicines to the city, of which we currently have only half of the needed quantities. International projects in the area of the food processing industry envisage first and foremost reconstruction of the meat-packing plant, whose equipment already had become obsolete in the beginning of the 1930's. There is also a plan to attract foreign investment into setting up privately-owned bakeries in Petersburg. The main problem in our transportation support, in the opinion of city authorities, may be resolved with the help of foreign partners--setting up our own bus manufacturing. So far, there are two ideas for its implementation: at the Kirov Plant as part of the complex of consumer goods production, and in the Severnyy Plant, which as a result of conversion has now began to manufacture mopeds. |
FBIS3-23915_0 | News From St Petersburg Military Enterprises on Verge of Collapse | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Report by Vadim Stasov: "Defense Industry Breaks the Oath of Silence"] [Text] Yesterday directors of Petersburg military-industrial complex [VPK] enterprises discussed the situation in their sector. "Enterprise collectives are rapidly moving towards an economic abyss", "a deliberate destruction of the industry is underway"--these quotes from the remarks of conference speakers reflect quite precisely the mood that reigned in the conference hall of one of the "secret" research institutes. Directors complained about high electric power rates; about specialists leaving; about the government not paying for the output it had placed orders for. A little more of all this, and the Petersburg VPK will be finished for good. The discussion culminated in a petition to the president, the prime minister, the chairmen of both chambers of the Federation Council, and the Security Council, prepared by the working group of the Association of Industrial Enterprises and adopted unanimously by 138 enterprise directors. Noting that the defense industry is in a critical condition, directors insist on holding, no later than the end of March, a special meeting of the parliament that would discuss the situation in the country, formulate the goals of socioeconomic reforms being conducted by the government, and work out a mechanism of officials' responsibility for carrying out government decisions. Also adopted (and also unanimously) was the text of the draft for a presidential edict on the measures of ensuring availability of finances to pay for state defense orders, which will be sent to Moscow together with the petition. Despite these decisions, however, almost all speakers complained about lack of attention on the part of the government, which until now has not reacted at all to proposals and letters of defense industry captains. Having come to the conclusion that it was useless to rely on Moscow, the directors decided to look for a way out of the crisis on their own through joint efforts, and to prepare and adopt within the next few days a plan of anticrisis measures for Petersburg VPK enterprises. The directors' hopes that they will finally have the opportunity to tell the mayor and government representatives face to face what they think of them, did not get realized. The government was represented at the conference only by Yuriy Kozlov, a deputy chairman of the State Committee for Defense Industry, for whom everything said here was no news. Neither did the originally planned meeting with |
FBIS3-23919_1 | MFER Official on Russian-U.S. Economic Relations | stage. "Attempts at a rapprochement have been made repeatedly, by people of several generations, it may be said. And all such attempts have had one thing in common: They have been imperiously dictated to both countries by some irresistible forces and fateful circumstances which forced the politicians of Moscow and Washington to forgo antagonism for the sake of the simple survival of their states." [Rachkov] You are referring, most likely, primarily to the joint participation of the USSR and the United States in the war against Hitler fascism and Japanese militarism? [Drozdov] This also, of course. But not only this. Ten years before the attack by fascist Germany on the Soviet Union, and by Japan on America's Pearl Harbor, the entire Western world, the United States in particular, lay in the ruins of an unprecedented economic crisis. But that crisis stopped at borders beyond which lay one-sixth of the land area of the globe--the Soviet Union--where, albeit by brutal methods, the vigorous experiment of "Stalin's industrialization" was being undertaken. It created a tremendous demand for American and other equipment. In order to give at least some additional stimulus to its crisis-ridden industry the United States--the last of the great powers, after 16 years of hesitation--finally recognized the "Bolshevik dictatorship" diplomatically. In exchange for our goods and gold, Washington encouraged the supply to us of a considerable quantity of equipment, which brought back to the American plants tens of thousands of unemployed. But then the economy in the West picked up, and the vicissitudes of geopolitics threw Stalin and Hitler into one another's embrace for some time, which contributed to a winding down of economic relations with the United States, right up until the start of the joint struggle for survival at the height of World War II. [Rachkov] And then the cold shower for our business relations with America and the majority of Western countries was the cold war, which dragged on for many years. Am I right? [Drozdov] Yes, this is common knowledge. And one further attempt, far-reaching, I would say, at the trade and economic rapprochement of Moscow and Washington was made within our memory even. After all, in the first decades following World War II supernatural force was in the full meaning of the words concentrated in the nuclear warheads of the superpowers. And the Caribbean crisis of the fall of 1962 just about sprang this genie |
FBIS3-23919_7 | MFER Official on Russian-U.S. Economic Relations | the former USSR and which had operated in respect to Russia. Thus Russia has for the first time since 1951 been accorded most-favored-nation status in trade. The legislative prohibitions on credit to us along the lines of the Commodity-Credit Corporation and the Export-Import Bank of the United States have been revoked. The restrictions on the special government insurance agency of the United States--the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)--have been removed. Russia has acquired the opportunity to use soft long-term loans in accordance with the Food for Progress program. The extension to us of the General System of Customs Preferences will contribute to the increased efficiency of the exports of a whole number of our commodities to the United States. Yes, we take a positive view of the Furtherance of Reform in New Democratic Countries Act, which has been adopted in the United States: It provides for the abolition of more than 70 legislative restrictions established in the years of the cold war. The reform of Cocom which is being undertaken at the present time is reason to believe that there will shortly be considerable movement in the direction of abolition of the discriminatory restrictions on supplies to Russia of research-intensive goods and technology, which have been in effect for more than 40 years. At the same time a number of discriminatory restrictions preventing the building of bilateral trade and economic relations on a firm long-term basis continues to operate in respect to Russia. For example, the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, which was introduced 20 years ago, gives the American side the right at any time to unilaterally cancel the most-favored-nation status in trade which has been accorded Russia. Antidumping procedures, which are hampering our exports to the United States or threatening to squeeze out of the American market a number of important Russian raw material commodities (carbamide, ferrosilicon, aluminum, and others), continue to operate. And the antidumping procedures applied in respect to our exporters are considerably more harsh and onerous than those that are applied in respect to the vast majority of countries, what is more. In sum, the United States' share of Russia's foreign trade turnover is not even 2 percent, and Russia's share of America's trade is gauged in only tenths of 1 percent. And at the present stage of scientific and technological development the traditional forms of our trade and economic relations with the United States based on the |
FBIS3-23930_7 | Ministry Official on Economy, Reforms | the republic. The systematic reduction in the supplies to retail trade of the basic foodstuffs is a cause of particular concern. The supply of meat and meat products declined 65 percent, of dairy products, 48 percent, sugar and confectionery, 92 percent, cotton cloth, 44 percent, silk cloth, 56 percent, knitwear, 40 percent, footwear, 35 percent, and so forth in 1992 compared with 1991. The consumption of meat and meat products declined from 26 kg in 1990 to 20 kg in 1992, and of milk and dairy products, from 161 kg to 72 kg. The increase in prices is forcing people to spend a large part of their family budget primarily on the purchase of food. The structure of the population's diet has shifted toward carbohydrate consumption models. Proportional spending on nourishment is rising systematically and at the present time constitutes 65 percent. Consumption at the level of the physiological minimum enables a person to exist merely as a biological organism, but not to restore his fitness for work. A diet at this caloric level leads for quite a long period of time to mental and physical degradation. The lack of protein and fats is reflected in people's health and the quality of the work force, a reduction in life expectancy, a change in its mentality and behavior, and the destruction of the nation's gene pool. Unless there is a change in the situation, a further increase in morbidity, reduced immunity, and a decline in the ability to work may be expected in the not-too-distant future in certain underdeveloped regions. The agrarian sector of the republic's economy has found itself in an extremely difficult situation. The armed conflicts, the complex social and political situation, the severance of firmly established economic relations between countries of the Commonwealth, the extremely unfavorable weather conditions, natural disasters of unprecedented scale, the incredible price rises, the difficulties in the purchase of equipment, fuel and lubricants, mineral fertilizers, herbicides, and toxic chemicals associated with this, and the appreciable gap between the level of prices of industrial and agricultural products have been reflected in the situation in the sector. No sector has suffered as much as agriculture. A further decline in agricultural production is occurring against the background of the shortfall in the sowing of a number of crops and the reduction in the numbers of livestock and the decline in its productiveness. In 1992 the total gross |
FBIS3-23933_1 | Shikhmuradov on National Reform Course | look at the events of the recent and distant past, we said to ourselves: All that has happened has been both good and bad--that is our history. And how it will continue now depends on us. Such a sober view of our own history has now become a foundation for peace and harmony in the society. Of course the republic leaders still have the right to correct, reasonable, and timely intervention. And they take advantage of this right. Look, for example, at the serious evolution in our legislation of the article on fanning intertribal and interethnic dissension. At one time this entailed a small fine. Now fanning dissension is regarded as one of the gravest criminal offenses and is punished accordingly. [Zorinyants] And how is the personnel policy structured? As far as I know, there have been fewer and fewer non-Turkmens recently, both in the structures of power and among the leaders of enterprises. [Shikhmuradov] We have no national or, more precisely, nationalistic preferences in personnel policy. A mechanism of appropriateness and occupational suitability is at work here. Look at the entire administrative hierarchy and you will see representatives of all peoples. And if Turkmens still prevail, that is not surprising; after all, they make up 80 percent of the population. [Zorinyants] One gets the impression that the leaders of Turkmenistan have some kind of cautious attitude toward the CIS. [Shikhmuradov] It seems to many people that the CIS is a new version of the former Union, where there is a single center to which one can turn on any occasion. This, as we see it, is an incorrect view of it. In the USSR relations between the Center and the Union republics were always like those of a rider and a horse. Two years of experience with the CIS have convinced us that even the most difficult problems in relations among states can and should be resolved in bilateral negotiations. As we know, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. And the creation under the label of the CIS of any center, a strict coordinating structure, is a third point, which, if it does not distort, at least lengthens this straight line. We want to reserve the right to choose what is advantageous and what is disadvantageous based on our own national interests. [Zorinyants] Whose experience would you like to emulate in your reforms? [Shikhmuradov] We |
FBIS3-23933_3 | Shikhmuradov on National Reform Course | have studied various models of socioeconomic development and familiarized ourselves with the experience of Turkey, the United States, France, China, India, and Pakistan. And still we have created our own purely Turkmen model of transition to the market. It takes into account our country's specific features, its customs and traditions, and even its behavioral stereotypes. Based on this we have published a program called "10 Years of Well-Being." We need 10 years of stability and interethnic harmony in order to conduct the reforms more quickly. During this period we must solve two problems--simultaneously: building an independent state and changing from a centralized to a market economy. And at the same time we shall provide social guarantees for the people so that the difficulties of the transition will not be reflected painfully among the population, as is frequently the case. [Zorinyants] Judging from what I have seen, you have not always succeeded at the latter. The stores are rather empty. The main food products are bought with ration cards and the prices went up again after the introduction of the national currency. Therefore let us move from the material sphere to questions of spiritual life. According to the Constitution, Turkmenistan is a secular state, but the highest representatives of the Muslim clergy participate in the work of all the most important conferences. The president of Turkmenistan has issued an edict on studying the fundamentals of religion in school. Is this not turning out that the revival of interest in Islam is moving and taking hold at the top? And is this not pandering to fundamentalist forces? [Shikhmuradov] For many long years our people were physically separated from religion even though it is a part of their spiritual life. And if the return to Islam seems overly active now, one must allow for what you might call a thirst on the part of a people yearning for their own customs and traditions. The people generate their culture, and religion is a part of it. As for threats of Muslim fundamentalism, I want to say that Turkmens have never been religious fanatics. And such a threat does not exist. [Zorinyants] Does the return of Islam to the spiritual life of society mean that the traditions associated with it will also be revived: polygamy, bride money, etc.? [Shikhmuradov] You are talking about things that are under church jurisdiction. But in our country it is |
FBIS3-23934_3 | Yeltsin Federal Assembly Representative Views Tasks | the idea that the unity of authority is a predominant principle. Therefore, a situation arose not of separation, but of dualism of powers: Both centers tried to concentrate power in their own hands; therefore, rivalry between them proved to be inevitable. It is precisely in this that I see the tragedy of the past. It remains to be hoped that now, when the principle of the separation of powers is logically embodied in the structure of authority, the condition has developed for the creation of a rule-of-law civilized state. But again only the condition! If just one of the branches of authority begins to be guided not by the constitution, but by political consideration, expect trouble. At present, one frequently hears, they say, we did not elect the right ones to parliament. We elected those who were available! Indeed, we encountered phantom parties behind which no one stands. But this is the result of the crudity of our political history. The Labor Party of England was created over centuries. The Democratic and Republican Parties in the United States also have a couple of hundred years behind them. Elections are the great political eliminators of ignorance. We have already lived through one political campaign, now elections to local organs of authority are going on, and within two years we will have a still more serious test--elections of both parliament and the president. This is the best school for the political maturation of the people and the formation of leaders and parties of a democratic persuasion. The word "citizen" [grazhdanin] came from the word "city dweller" [gorozhanin], which means "a free person." Strictly speaking, until 1861, a majority of Russians were not citizens. And they again stopped being citizens after 1917. It is only in recent times that the process of reanimation of a civic society started. What does it mean to be a citizen and a free person? To possess political freedom? Not only. A beggar does not need political freedom--in his hands it is a dangerous weapon. What is also needed is economic freedom associated with the development of the institution of private property. Without economic prosperity and democracy, it is not worth a farthing. [Kondratyeva] What percentage of the population should become citizens in order for society to be socially and economically stable? [Yakovlev] At least 30 percent. Then this third will entice those who are wavering. You know, |
FBIS3-23938_2 | Economic Revival Spurs Restart Plans for AES | London last week, President Levon Ter-Petrosyan announced that Russia and Armenia will soon sign an agreement on creating a joint Armenian-Russian enterprise on the base of the AES. Thus, it was made clear to the West that it should not fear potential "nuclear ambitions" on the part of Yerevan: the station's operation will be under the control of one of the great powers which, of course, will never allow the AES to be used for military purposes. This already makes possible the prospect of receiving targeted credits from the West for development of the fuels and power sector. Meanwhile, Russia will undertake the main burden of financing AES restoration work. This should make it possible to restart one of the station's generators as early as the end of this year and to produce an additional 400 megawatts of electric power. One half, of course, will belong to the Russian side, and this factor will reinforce even more Yerevan's traditional economic and political dependence on Moscow, which literally will gain the ability to turn on and off the light in the Armenian population's apartments. In addition, transfer of electricity from Armenia to Russia is not economically effective because of the great distances. Therefore a piquant situation may arise whereby Russia will be selling electric power produced in Armenia to neighboring countries, with which Armenia at this point has strained relations, to put it mildly--to Turkey or even Azerbaijan. The upcoming restart of the station is in every respect a forced step. The AES is situated in a troublesome area and may at any moment become the subject of a military attack. Therefore, Armenia is working on a parallel track searching for alternative solutions in finding reliable sources of energy for the country. In April, prospecting drilling probably will finally begin in Ararat Valley, where there are assumed oil and gas deposits. A program of building a score of medium- and small-capacity hydroelectric stations is in the development stage. In the production sphere the priority is given to energy-saving technologies. Certain hopes are also pinned on the plans for building a new major gas pipeline between Iran and West Europe. In any event, implementation of even a part of these plans and projects will require considerable resources which Armenia today does not have. The restart of the AES will allow, however, achievement of a qualitative improvement in national industry operations and will |
FBIS3-23945_15 | Chernomyrdin's 4 March Report to Government 2. Move Forward While Taking Account of Socioeconomic Realities 3. Formulating Effective Mechanisms for Economic Stabilization | date the number of federal executive and state government organs has dropped from 93 to 77, including a fall in the number of organs in the Government from 37 to 23. The number of apparatus personnel, including government apparatus personnel, is also being cut. Agrarian reform provides a classic example of the formation of new market institutions. I will be frank and say that its future is beginning to cause misgivings. The government's interest in this is supremely clear. The more intensive the transformations in the agrarian sector, the more effective the structure of ownership, the fewer problems with reform, and the less strain on the budget. Subsidies for agricultural producers are essential, but they are burdensome for the budget and often ineffective now. We must be realists after all! By the middle of last year we had not only drawn close to, but had effectively overstepped the mark in terms of the amount of budget aid that we can give agriculture without jeopardizing other sectors of the economy. At the same time I must also mention the unscrupulous speculation regarding the government's policy on the agrarian sector. The figure of 34 trillion rubles [R] -- which Chernomyrdin allegedly wants to earmark for agriculture from budget funds -- has been brought up by someone and has begun to appear in the press. That is not true, I would willingly provide that amount, but where is it to come from? The measures of state support in force in 1993 will remain the same in 1994, but no more. We are embarking on the radical reform of the whole system of state support for agriculture. We will provide money in return for a guaranteed result and for strictly defined purposes. We must know how much food -- and of what quality -- Russian citizens will receive in return for the budget funds allocated. We will extend our support for agricultural production via the network of specialized credit and other market institutions: cooperative, mortgage, and land banks, consumer credit companies, and wholesale food markets. Everything that I have mentioned, plus rigorous observance of the balance of powers and responsibility between the Center and the regions, are the main components of policy in 1994, a policy that is designed to streamline the economic system. But there are also urgent problems that need to be resolved over the next two-three months. These are primarily the |
FBIS3-23947_10 | Yavlinskiy on Results of Reforms, Strategy for Transitional Period | is quite natural that a different approach is needed here. For instance, the Russian economy cannot be based on only one export sector (for instance, fuel and power engineering), leaving all other industrial sectors to the mercy of fate. And external demand will never be able to make up for the collapse of domestic demand; in other words, a "Keynesian" type of decline represents a much more serious problem here than in a small country. 5) We cannot disregard political and geopolitical factors. Russia is part of the former Union. Fourteen republics of this former Union have declared their independence, but most of them will never be able to achieve real economic independence, at least in the foreseeable future. On the other hand, Russia cannot remain indifferent to this aspect--if for no other reason than because 25 million Russians live in the CIS republics. In addition, Russia itself is a grandiose conglomerate of heterogeneous regions, including many that used to consist of ethnic minorities [sentence as published]. No economic reform can be successful unless it takes this reality into account. The topic of the correct political design for further transformations requires time and space exceeding what we are allotted for this article. Therefore we will outline only briefly what, in our opinion, can be done in order to channel the process underway in the right direction; how to give a boost to those transformations that promise an effective market economy in the future and at the same time erect high defensive barriers against those trends that carry the inherent danger of leading the economy astray. 2. The Effective Proprietor The main argument of supporters of self-development in privatization may be summarized this way: All state property must be transferred into private hands as quickly as possible. It is unimportant who gets this property initially; all that is needed is to enable free trading of newly acquired property rights, and in the end more effective proprietors will gain possession of this property. Needless to say, there is an enormous distance between this theoretical construction and real market conditions, since the market is always replete with all sorts of imperfections. However, the Russian Government's faith in this liberalistic dogma was so great that a whole system of so-called voucher privatization was specially constructed to accommodate this concept. We have already commented on the results of the privatization scheme. As to the vouchers, |
FBIS3-23963_11 | Data on Living Standard in Moscow, Regions for 1991-93 | 30 times more than the corresponding income in poor families. Poor families are characterized by a higher proportion of income in the form of pensions, subsidies, and stipends. The proportionate weight of these incomes nonetheless declined in poor families by comparison with the initial period of reform in 1992. Among the poor able-bodied population, the proportionate weight of those working in state and municipal enterprises is approximately twice as high. At the same time, up to 40 percent of all those working from the rich income group work in individual (family) and private enterprises, while among the poor able-bodied population this indicator is 20 times or more lower. Among the rich, income from shares and other forms of property (other than private plots) reaches up to 10 percent of the total volume of income, while among the poor this income does not exceed 1.5 percent. As income rises, the commercial orientation of the private plot is increasingly manifested. If in poor families the overwhelming mass of output is used for personal consumption, in well-off and rich families up to 50 percent of all net output from private plots is sold. Poor families have been most affected by unemployment. Analysis indicates that up to half of those individuals who are able-bodied and who receive an unemployment subsidy are concentrated in poor families. Among poor families, the proportionate weight of the non-able-bodied is significantly higher than among rich families. According to VTsUZh assessments, at present more than two-fifths of the members of poor families are children or individuals older than working age. In rich families these social-demographic groups comprise about one-sixth. In several regions up to 40 percent and more of all children live in poor families. Among the dependents in these families, mothers raising young children are represented significantly more often than in others. In social programs to support the standard of living, it obviously makes sense to separate out the following blocs: --measures to provide guarantees to all population groups and strata (minimum social norms: salaries, pensions, stipends, other social payments, taking into consideration socioeconomic conditions in the regions; ecological conditions of survival, safety, and others); --measures for the social support of the able-bodied population (above all, the creation of conditions for the independent resolution of the problem of raising their families' standard of living); --measures for targeted social protection of the non-able-bodied population, measures to protect citizens who find |
FBIS3-23971_0 | Progress, Problems in Providing Financial Relief to Agriculture Government Moves to Allot Credits | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Article by Igor Ostrovskiy: "Get Your Money Ready: The Government is Allocating Preferential Credit to Agriculture. The Pace of Inflation Will Increase in Coming Months"] [Text] For 2.5 hours on 3 February the members of the government's presidium discussed the draft, "Economic Conditions for the Operation of the Agricultural Complex in 1994." Since it is traditional to make up subtitles to government documents, in my opinion this one could be called the classic manual to branch lobbying. The 24 points contain almost everything against which the reform government struggled for 2 years, as, for example, government subsidies for the procurement from abroad of agents to protect vegetation and raw materials for the food industry, and the cancellation of duties on imported spare parts and equipment for some branches of industry. These are seemingly innocuous points, but they radically undermine domestic industry, especially the chemical industry, machine building and the military industrial complex. With government protection of the domestic market they would be able to supply the agroindustrial complex with all it needed, but without it the domestic industry will not be able to withstand competition with foreign suppliers. Let us say that the procurement of sugar from abroad requires a 20-percent duty. Even without this, our sugar prices are the highest in the world. Now the sugar barons, protected from competition, will be able to do with us what they will. It is possible to analyze every point of the document, but it is better to provide summary figures. In the course of this year direct subsidies from budget allocations will equal 14.1 trillion rubles; the creation of a federal food fund will require 14.5 trillion; and special-purpose preferential credit for spring field work - 6 trillion. Add some other benefits to this and you will have a total of 34.7 trillion. From past experience we know that ultimately almost half of preferential credit is transformed into cash and appears on the market. The reaction to this will be unequivocal -- first there will be an increase in the cost of durable goods because they are purchased in expectation of inflation. We can assume that in the coming 2-3 months there will be a sharp increase in the cost of televisions, refrigerators, VCR's and other embellishments of our lives. We cannot avoid price fixing on the hard currency market, which is completely understandable because people prefer |
FBIS3-23978_3 | Deputy Labor Minister on New Orientation in Labor Legislation | for firing at management's initiative. Why does our country still have such a conservative Labor Code? [Kalashnikov] Yes, it is true, in the United States, only 6 states have legislation on insurance for temporary incapacity, and the other 44 do not have it. A number of other countries do not start paying benefits for temporary incapacity from the first day of the illness: for example, Italy pays from the fourth day, and Finland -- from the eighth day of incapacity. These problems, however, must not be considered separately from other trends in social security, wage level and other forms of social insurance. In the United States, where there is no social insurance by legislation, it is widely organized on voluntary principles, through commercial insurance companies and collective contracts. I do not think that the time has yet come in our country when we could leave workers without compulsory state social insurance. Considering the income level of the basic mass of the population, this is fraught with many negative social consequences. With respect to the conservatism of the Labor Code as regards other social guarantees, it can be said that problems mainly arise here not with the scale, and not with the size of the social guarantees, but with the procedure for their presentation. Obviously, with respect to individual social guarantees based on improving the tax legislation and the procedure for forming social funds, a redistribution of responsibility between the state and the workers should be carried out. Therefore, the ministry now finds itself seeking improvement in labor legislation in all directions. This includes drawing up statutes on state support of small-scale entrepreneurship as well. We will be grateful for all suggestions on this subject. [EIZh] Viktor Vasilyevich, one of the problems which constantly "scares" us is unemployment. It would appear that the state's influence over this should be an active one. It can't pay money to the unemployed just like that. Who will go work in the rural areas, if the unemployment benefits are higher than the average wage in agricultural production? With officially declared unemployment, our country is full of vacant positions. What can you say about this? [Kalashnikov] According to the situation in December of last year, the number of persons without work and actively seeking it was 3.8 million people, or 5 percent of the economically active population. At the same time, approximately the same number of |
FBIS3-23979_0 | Labor Ministry Study on Social, Labor Situation | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Article by OBSHCHAYA GAZETA social problems department: "The Runaway Decline Has Been Halted, But Somehow Life Has Not Become Easier"] [Text] Did we become richer or poorer over the past, difficult and troubled, year of 1993? The usual answer to this question is: "We are getting impoverished..." If we are to believe official figures, however, our life is not all that hopeless. And we obtained these figures from the most reliable original source--the Russian Department of Labor, which kindly made available to us the results of a study "On the Situation in the Social and Labor Sphere." So, here is how we lived and survived... First and foremost, the study authors note, despite the measures aimed at strengthening the social orientation of the reforms adopted in 1993, the people's situation remains difficult. The level of social guarantees has dropped, and income indexation lags behind rises in consumer prices. Our poverty had an impact on the demographic situation. Natural population loss (number of deaths exceeding the number of births) was registered in 68 regions in Russia. Life expectancy measured 65.8 years as compared to 69.3 years in 1986. Meanwhile, however, the population's monetary income, taking into consideration those engaged in entrepreneurial activities, increased 11-fold as compared to 1992. Taking into account the consumer price index, income increased by 9 percent. Society is being rapidly stratified into rich and poor. The income of the 10 highest percent of the population exceeds the income of the poorest by a factor of 11 (as compared to a factor of eight in the end of 1992). And this is only according to official data. In 1993, 77 percent of the population had an income of less than twice the size of the subsistence minimum, including 30 percent who had an income below the subsistence minimum. The poorest (income not exceeding the cost of the minimum food basket)--are families with many children, incomplete families, and those with several dependents. Despite numerous indexations, single pensioners and the disabled also ended up in this group. At the same time, a group of "new poor" emerged in Russia in 1993. This is what official statistics call work-eligible citizens whose income has fallen below the subsistence minimum. This includes first and foremost the unemployed (of which there are already more than 1 million), workers at unprofitable enterprises sent on indefinite leave (more than 4 million officially), |
FBIS3-23979_1 | Labor Ministry Study on Social, Labor Situation | those engaged in entrepreneurial activities, increased 11-fold as compared to 1992. Taking into account the consumer price index, income increased by 9 percent. Society is being rapidly stratified into rich and poor. The income of the 10 highest percent of the population exceeds the income of the poorest by a factor of 11 (as compared to a factor of eight in the end of 1992). And this is only according to official data. In 1993, 77 percent of the population had an income of less than twice the size of the subsistence minimum, including 30 percent who had an income below the subsistence minimum. The poorest (income not exceeding the cost of the minimum food basket)--are families with many children, incomplete families, and those with several dependents. Despite numerous indexations, single pensioners and the disabled also ended up in this group. At the same time, a group of "new poor" emerged in Russia in 1993. This is what official statistics call work-eligible citizens whose income has fallen below the subsistence minimum. This includes first and foremost the unemployed (of which there are already more than 1 million), workers at unprofitable enterprises sent on indefinite leave (more than 4 million officially), and young people. More than 10 percent of high school graduates could not find jobs in 1993, as well as more than 70 percent of graduates of elementary vocational schools (!), more than 60 percent of graduates of intermediate vocational schools, and almost 50 percent of college graduates. The highest level of unemployment currently exists in the republics of Mari El, Dagestan, Chuvashia, Adygey, Mordvinia, and Pskov, Yaroslavl, and Ivanovo Oblasts, where there are very few job vacancies. There are between 11 and 33 contenders for each job here. Meanwhile, far from all who have been laid off at enterprises or have left because of not being paid have registered at the labor exchange. The number of those engaged in the nonstate sector of the economy has grown sharply and now comprises 40 percent of the total employed. The number of jobs at state enterprises, on the other hands, continues to shrink. The average wage in 1993 increased 9.9-fold as compared to 1992, which more or less corresponds to the rise in consumer prices. However, by December 1993 as compared to December 1992 it had increased only eightfold, while prices had increased almost 10-fold. There are wages and wages, however. |
FBIS3-23985_0 | Seminar on Criminology Held Introduction to Criminology Association Seminar | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Article by Yuriy Nekrasov, member of the Criminology Association, under the heading "Business under the Criminological X-Ray": "Let He Who Speaks Be Heard"] [Text] Let us ask, as they say, a point-blank question: Has the Criminology Association, which organized the international seminar "For Honest Business" at the beginning of January, succeeded in its undertaking? Did they not waste the first work week of the year--scholars and practitioners in jurisprudence, staff of various protection services, and finally, entrepreneurs, who, as one may guess, have an extremely high stake in this--by gathering in the conference hall of the Russian Academy of Management? Of course, skeptics will also have something to comment on in the seminar. First, the thesis "two jurists--three opinions" has not been refuted by a long shot. Differences of opinion sometimes produced a heat akin to rally frenzy. Second, is there a guarantee that in this debate, contrary to the experience of thousands of others like it, the truth indeed will be born? Finally, was it worthwhile to convene this gathering in order to once again state the obvious: business is being overrun by crime? As an objection to the hypothetical skeptic, I will probably begin with the latter: stating the obvious. There are different ways to state things. One can stun the audience with murderous (frequently in the literal sense) statistics and "finish off" the listener with the eternal question: What are they doing about it--the procuracy, or the militia, or anyone else except the critic's own agency. Or one may calmly present the same figures on the basis of a scientifically validated analysis. One can, on the basis of the same analysis, produce a clear forecast; or, finally, propose a package of well-considered measures. For the sake of fairness I want to say that this approach was the prevalent one. Thanks to a large extent to the fact that the presidium, headed by the association President Azaliya Dolgovaya, tactfully but firmly nipped attempts at rally style in the bud. Now the main point. Despite the divergence of opinions that is traditional for the legal profession, the seminar participants practically agreed on the definition of three, if one may put it this way, "predicaments" of modern business in our country. A useless legal base of reforms; obvious shortcomings in the practice of privatization, banking, and other strategic directions of economic renewal; and finally, a corrupt |
FBIS3-23986_1 | Seminar on Criminology Held 1990-1993 Crime Figures, Pessimistic Prognosis for Future | crime groups have been identified. More than 130 "Russian" stores selling Russian antiques have been found abroad. Organized crime families operate in the sphere of privatization, conversion to joint-stock holding, financial and credit relations, and exchange activities. The drug business is actively developing in Russia. Officials--including those with responsibility for developing the state's political and economic ties and implementing long-term programs of international cooperation--working in Russian organizations abroad are being actively drawn into smuggling and other criminal activities. Criminological research shows that official crime data reflect less and less the real criminal situation in Russia. Even grave crimes endangering life and health are reported increasingly less to law enforcement bodies--both by victims and medical facilities. A decline in economic crime also is associated to a considerable degree with less information flowing to law enforcement organs. In the past they received a considerable amount of material from the system of people's control, the construction bank, trade inspection, and other control organs which now have either been liquidated or substantially reorganized. In addition, a considerable number of criminal actions in the economic sphere involves the private sector, which prefers not to let state organs meddle in it. As a result, there has been a steady decrease in recorded abuse of position, economic operations, and other crimes in the economic sphere: 150,972 in 1991, 141,271 in 1991, and 127,085 in 1992. Increasingly crimes remain unsolved. As compared to 1989 the number increased by 37 percent in 1990, by 74 percent in 1991, and by 101 percent in 1992. This indicates that the law enforcement system is working at the limit of its capacity. Many crimes will never be solved. The growing remainder of unsolved crimes as of 1 January 1993 amounted to more than 3 million. Over the period 1989-1992 the number of staff members of internal affairs organs charged with crimes increased by a factor of 2.2, including those charged with abuse of official position and crimes against the law system--by a factor of 3.7. There were 3.4 times more crimes unmasked involving bribe-taking. In 1992, 1,641 members of internal affairs organs were charged with commission of general crimes (murder, theft, robbery, and so on), which is almost twice as many as in 1989. Many criminals, even when identified, practically do not incur the penalty envisaged by law. With respect to identified thieves who have committed crimes through embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, |
FBIS3-23986_2 | Seminar on Criminology Held 1990-1993 Crime Figures, Pessimistic Prognosis for Future | been a steady decrease in recorded abuse of position, economic operations, and other crimes in the economic sphere: 150,972 in 1991, 141,271 in 1991, and 127,085 in 1992. Increasingly crimes remain unsolved. As compared to 1989 the number increased by 37 percent in 1990, by 74 percent in 1991, and by 101 percent in 1992. This indicates that the law enforcement system is working at the limit of its capacity. Many crimes will never be solved. The growing remainder of unsolved crimes as of 1 January 1993 amounted to more than 3 million. Over the period 1989-1992 the number of staff members of internal affairs organs charged with crimes increased by a factor of 2.2, including those charged with abuse of official position and crimes against the law system--by a factor of 3.7. There were 3.4 times more crimes unmasked involving bribe-taking. In 1992, 1,641 members of internal affairs organs were charged with commission of general crimes (murder, theft, robbery, and so on), which is almost twice as many as in 1989. Many criminals, even when identified, practically do not incur the penalty envisaged by law. With respect to identified thieves who have committed crimes through embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, or abuse of official position, charges have been brought against only about 30 percent; 5-6 percent were sentenced to prison terms, and with respect to the overwhelming majority of bribe-takers the sentence that is handed down is below the lowest minimum. Such impunity contributes to a blossoming of corruption. Many crimes and criminals end up out of bounds for law enforcement also because of the lower social-legal activism of the population, intimidation or bribery of victims and witnesses, unclear policy with respect to crime (for a long time a moratorium was advocated on combating economic crime during the period of transition to the market), extremely poor organization of inspection (audit) control, and the fact that the legal base for combating crime lags behind the changes in crime itself. Numerous forms of corrupt behavior (acceptance of invitations to foreign trips, receiving preferential credit, etc.) are far from always covered by provisions of current legislation. Criminal liability for organizing and running an organized crime family still has not been put in effect; there is no proper legal treatment for professional crime carried out in the form of unlicensed enterprise, and a number of other socially dangerous forms of behavior--financial transgressions, brokerage machinations |
FBIS3-23989_4 | Turmoil at PRAVDA Editorial Office Viewed | vote threw out the editor in chief, whom they themselves had elected to that post three months before. Aleksandr Ilin was elected acting editor-in-chief; he had already been named to that post by Minister Shumeyko after the October events. Eighty-seven (of a staff of 216 persons) spoke against confidence in Linnik and against confirmation of his commission (when he was elected as chief editor, he received 40 votes). Ninety were for entrusting these duties to Aleksandr Ilin. These same workers, by a majority of votes, resolved to continue the cooperation with the Greek company. In the words of the new acting editor, the Greeks need the founder's rights for greater surety: They bear the expenses and must be insured against a situation where their ouster suddenly seemed desirable. No professional claims were made either of Viktor Linnik or of the persons figuring on the blacklist, but at the meeting, the Greeks snitched to the collective that they had paid the current editor in chief extra in foreign currency (about Gennadiy Seleznev they said nothing). Viktor Linnik, however, expecting such a turn of events, opened a safe and rendered an accounting to the last drachma: He had released the money for the publication of PRAVDA. At this newspaper, many people work literally for kopeks. PRAVDA journalists today have a salary of R25,000: That is how much satirist Valentin Prokhorov makes. And he would be happy to be getting even that much, but since January the Greeks have not paid salaries at all. One of PRAVDA's most highly paid journalists, Aleksandr Ilin, named the acting chief editor, receives R130,000. In the words of Stanislav Pastukhov, one of the senior employees at PRAVDA, it was not the best portion of the collective who supported the Greeks; it was basically people who had worked for a year or a year and a half, "those because of whom communists are referred to as Red-browns." At the press conference, Viktor Linnik announced that he was not planning to leave the post of editor-in-chief and that he did not acknowledge the decision of the illegal assembly. However, he is not now in a position to dismiss the "mutineers," because of the dual power that formed long ago at the newspaper, where the Greeks interfere in the operational management. It is also hard for him to imagine how he is going to manage to break off relations with |
FBIS3-23996_0 | CIS Kurdistan Liberation Front Representative Interviewed | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Interview with Jamal Kadyr, by Vladimir Mikhaylov; date and place not given: "What the Kurds Are Fighting For"] [Text] As if conspiratorially, the news media, the public of the majority of democratic countries, and international organizations are silent about the genocide against the Kurds and this people's heroic struggle. RABOCHAYA TRIBUNA observer Vladimir Mikhaylov interviews Jamal Kadyr, representative of the Kurdistan National Liberation Front in the CIS countries. [Mikhaylov] I fear that our readers are not all that well acquainted either with the Kurds themselves or with the Kurdish problem--Soviet and, subsequently, Russian newspapers practically ignored this question. Could you not for a start, therefore, briefly identify this problem? [Kadyr] Happily. According to one version, the Kurds came to Asia from northern Europe and occupied the territory between the present Iran and Turkey 1,000 years before the birth of Christ. They fought for approximately four centuries, and it was only in 612 B.C.E. that they formed their own state. And, as is usual in ancient history, there were numerous victories and defeats, and states broke up and took shape. In our century, even the territory of Kurdistan in Western Asia has been divided among Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, and we have since that time been fighting for the creation of a unified and independent state. This struggle is being conducted by the National Liberation Front under the leadership of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). [Mikhaylov] Does the liberation movement adhere to a common strategy and tactics in all four areas? [Kadyr] No. In Iraqi Kurdistan, the struggle began in 1960, but, unfortunately, it was conducted not for freedom and independence but for the right of autonomy. When this autonomy was promised, therefore, the Iraqi Kurds came to trust the country's leadership. As a result, Baghdad needed have no fear of them and was able to concentrate fully on the war with Iran. When the war was over, however, the Iraqi Army, like the Iranian Army also, for that matter, struck at the Kurds--1,400 villages were destroyed, and 600,000 refugees left their homes, and the rest were herded into strategic localities. All weapons, chemical weapons included, have been used against the Kurds. In 1991, when Operation Desert Storm was conducted against Baghdad, the Kurds once again acquired the possibility of struggle. But this did not suit the United States, and it afforded Iraq the opportunity to |
FBIS3-23996_2 | CIS Kurdistan Liberation Front Representative Interviewed | deliver new attacks on our brothers--184,000 persons died, and new hundreds of thousands became refugees. Washington is playing a double game here: In order to keep Baghdad in check it is ostensibly supporting the Kurds, but as soon as they begin to gain strength, it washes its hands of them, affording the Iraqi Army an opportunity to smash them. The situation is roughly the same in Iran also, and this is why the national liberation movement is extremely weak in these countries and is winning practically no victories. But until 1983 quite a few provinces were under the control of the Kurds there. But after the Khomeyni regime had become entrenched, these provinces once again reverted fully to Tehran. In Syria the situation is different: No guerrilla struggle has been conducted since 1969--we see a peaceful, democratic solution of this problem there. And the most tense situation, the most brutal genocide against our people, the most bitter war, exceeding considerably in its intensity what is happening in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is in Northern Kurdistan--on the territory of Turkey. [Mikhaylov] Judging by the brief wire reports, Turkish troops are pursuing the Kurds beyond this territory also. There was, for example, a report on mass bombing to which Turkish aircraft subjected camps on the territory of Iraq, going to a depth of 110 km. [Kadyr] Were this an isolated action! But such bombing raids and other crimes of the Turkish military are merely links in an endless chain of inhuman actions aimed at the extermination of an entire people. Nor does Ankara conceal this, for that matter, cynically declaring: "No more Kurds, no more problem." Hundreds of examples of genocide could be adduced. Let us begin with the fact that throughout its history, Turkish television has not uttered a single word in Kurdish, and the schools teach only in Turkish, and until recently the students were forced to say daily: "By nationality I am a Turk, my father is Ataturk, Turkey is a country in which only Turks live." As far as the punitive measures are concerned, more than 3,700 villages and towns have been destroyed, over 12,000 peaceful inhabitants killed, and approximately 9 million persons have become refugees in nine years in Turkish Kurdistan. When the troops conduct punitive operations, they do not select their targets, and old men, women, and young children die, therefore. They kill journalists and members of |
FBIS3-23998_1 | Reactions to Russian-Georgian Treaty Commentary Eyes Committee Findings | for Moscow the right of primarily military presence on designated territory, and c) it would postpone distribution of rewards for loyalty to some indefinitely remote future. 3. The ultimate objective would be a state of affairs under which the content of item 2 is perceived by public opinion as incredible generosity on Russia's part, bordering on extravagance. It wouldn't be difficult to note that the statement of the Duma's Committee for CIS Affairs provides for implementation of item 3, which is essentially an ideological cover for actions it itself criticizes. After all, the reason the president signed a treaty which he doesn't intend to submit for ratification is that for Moscow, this document is but formal confirmation of the new geopolitical reality in relations with Georgia: It in no way ensures equal cooperation and Russia's fulfillment of its obligations of reviving the Georgian economy and supporting the national integrity of the Republic of Georgia. The reason why the "Grachev-Patsatsiya Protocol" is not subject to ratification but becomes effective directly is that it discusses some very serious things--establishing Russian military bases on Georgian territory. (Only Georgia of the three Transcaucasian republics is objectively capable of serving as a strongpoint for Russian influence in the region. Neither Azerbaijan nor Armenia is fit for this role, first geographically and second because in the context of the permanent Karabakh crisis Moscow has been pursuing a "pendulum policy" in its relations with the warring sides for a long time. And alternating manipulation by the carrot and the stick doesn't favor establishment of a dependable, permanent military-political beachhead on these territories.) What is important is not what is being substituted--regiments for divisions or armies for regiments (by the way, what is important in these things is not the number of personnel but the nature of their combat use and the quality of their training): The main thing is that Moscow now has the legal right to maintain a military presence in Georgia. As for possible use of equipment supplied by Russia and personnel trained by Russia against Russia, the concern expressed by the Committee for CIS Affairs in this regard appears fully justified. Pharisaism is all right as long as it doesn't transform from a spicy complement to political soup into total policy. Then the burdened and humbled people will begin to resist, giving no thought to who gave them the weapons and who taught them |
FBIS3-24007_5 | Urban Voter Mood Surveyed | in each. Such voters account for less than one half of the urban population in the Southern and Eastern Regions--47 and 48 percent, respectively. During the last elections, the percentage of voters who turned out to vote was not much greater (or not greater at all) than the percentage of respondents who responded in the affirmative to the question of their intentions concerning participation in voting. For this reason, the percentage of such responses registered in the Eastern and Southern Regions prompts us to evaluate the likelihood of the failure of the elections in a significant proportion of urban electoral districts in these regions as quite high. This is particularly the case with the section of the Southern Region including Kherson, Nikolayev, and Odessa Oblasts and the Crimea. There, the proportion of urban voters who intend to take part in the elections comes to only 36 percent +/-6 percent at present, with 0.95 probability. If the propensity of voters to take part in voting grows as the date of the elections to the Supreme Council draws nearer, the projection for holding the elections will be favorable. However, if the abstention sentiment mounts (as has been the case over at least the last six to eight months), the projection will naturally be unfavorable. Which variant of the projection is probable? This has to do with the fact that the propensity to take part in the elections (which depends on many factors) is also quite closely associated with the assessment of the general state of affairs in Ukraine. Among those who believe that things are moving in the right direction on the whole, 73 percent of voters intend to vote, whereas among those who believe that they are moving in the wrong direction, only 50 percent intend to vote. There are no optimistic expectations as of now. Thus, the unfavorable projection concerning the completeness of the holding of the parliamentary elections is more probable than the favorable one. Therefore, the question arises: If elections are not validly held in many districts, what is the number of elected deputies at which the elections will be considered to have been validly held in Ukraine as a whole? That is to say, what is the number of newly elected deputies at which it is possible to consider that a new composition of the Supreme Council has emerged to which the current Supreme Council should yield |
FBIS3-24014_5 | Youth Conflict Potential Gauged | of solving them Young people do not accept but rather condemn violent, extremist forms of protest; they prefer lawful and moderate means [Table 3]. We may predict that the chief kind of struggle will take the form of economic strikes. A greater tendency to use lawful forms of social protest was shown by young people in Kiev, the Republic of Crimea, and the Lvov and Transcarpathia regions, while violent methods are favored by the young people of the Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Odessa, and Kirovograd regions. Strikes are preferred primarily by those in the worker professions, while more radical methods are favored by younger persons who are not working or in college--that is, today's older highschool students; among social groups it is workers of various kinds, and owners. Respondents were asked directly what factors might prompt them to take part in active forms of protest. More than half of them--54.4 percent--are not willing to do so under any conditions. The scenarios were designed to be extreme ones--the disappearance of basic food staples from store shelves, inflation, poverty, rampant crime, and so on. Hence, along with sharp deterioration of the situation in society we find a substantial gap between expectations of conflict and dissatisfaction with various aspects of social and economic life today, on the one hand, and young people's readiness to protest actively against these things, on the other. For young people who can still conceive of factors that might prompt them to take part in acts of protest, the main one is the impossibility of earning a decent living. The best way to prevent youth's conflict potential from turning into active forms of protest, in particular, is to carry out economic reforms that will give young people the chance to solve their most urgent problems--basically, material problems. In our opinion, it is not social protection in the form of miserly social assistance that ought to be the core of youth policy, but instead, prompt reforms toward a market economy in which young people, thanks to their greater mobility, energy, and their ability to upgrade their skills and adjust to new conditions, have a good chance of solving their problems on their own. A major role in averting social conflicts is played by young people's enthusiasm (especially the younger set) for modern arts, in particular movies and music. Unsound policies toward mass culture can only worsen and stimulate social conflict. One important |
FBIS3-24014_7 | Youth Conflict Potential Gauged | element of a civilized mechanism of resolving conflicts in developed democratic countries is a multi-party system, where parties serve as intermediaries between the public and the state authorities and express the interests of various social groups and strata. The parties are the basic mechanism for institutionalizing conflicts, moving them out of the sphere of possible direct clashes and into parliament. Moreover, parties enable groups to reconcile their interests with those of society's, otherwise a party cannot win in general elections. But besides the fact that our society has yet to form a real multi-party system, this is hindered by young people's political apathy (a trend that has been observed in recent years) and their loss of faith in political parties. Only 3.5 percent of young people now are members of youth associations, and only 1.6 percent belong to political parties. Moreover, 1.1 percent of the respondents reported taking part in events put on in 1993 by Ukraine's youth organizations, and another 2.7 percent took part in a few. We can see, then, that the existence of supposedly numerous youth associations (both political and non-political--for example, the MZhK [unidentified]), for all their apparent vigor, actually involves a rather narrow segment of young people, primarily the leadership apparatus of the organizations. They do not enjoy much support from young people and do not arouse much enthusiasm. Young people still prefer student organizations as well as sport, tourist, and ecological groups. Political youth associations rank in last place on this list, their members numbering only 15.8 percent, and are outranked by religious associations, which 24.1 percent of the respondents called worthwhile. So in the event of conflict relations with the authorities, today's youth associations are hardly likely to be effective advocates of young people's interests. As for the political parties, if the elections had been held last year, only three political forces would have won over 5 percent--Rukh (5.2 percent), the Democratic Party of Ukraine (5.8 percent), and the Greens (6.2 percent). Most of the young people--74.3 percent--could not name their favorite party; 37.7 percent answered that they didn't know which party to vote for; 18.2 percent stated they would not vote for any of the parties, on principle; and another 16.4 percent said they would vote for the candidate, not the party. This can bring it about that if it comes to a conflict, it will not take place in institutionalized forms, |
FBIS3-24016_1 | Crimea Deputy Favors Expanded Economic Rights | promises. I feel confident that Crimeans voted not so much for the person or his position as in opposition to the official course. As far as the "president-speaker" line is concerned, it is impossible to push through a convenient figure in our parliament. If Kiev wants to affect the state of affairs in Crimea, it is necessary to sharply change the position with respect to the republic, fulfilling numerous promises and taking decisive steps to expand economic rights of the region--right up to the creation of a free economic zone on the peninsula [Baranov] What do you believe would be the advantages and disadvantages of Crimea having two currencies in circulation? [Ermakov] Until a decision is made regarding a free economic zone in the Crimean region it is difficult for me to imagine a mechanism involving circulation of two currencies. If the SEZ (Free Economic Zone] is created, however, then the advantages are self-evident. That is indicated by international experience. [Baranov] There is a lot of talk in Moscow about the desire of the Russian community in Crimea to take part in the political life of Russia. Is that really so? [Ermakov] So far there have been too many problems within Crimea because of which that is hardly possible today. But the desire is an understandable one and I share it. [Baranov] Will the citizens of Crimea be able to obtain dual citizenship? [Ermakov] This topic was included in practically all of the election campaigns, including my own. An issue that important should not be put off. But neither the president of Crimea nor parliament have plans concerning secession from Ukraine, particularly in the light of economic disintegration, collapse of the financial system, and in the long-term, possibly the loss of statehood. We shall see what new members of the Ukrainian parliament will say--I am hoping for common sense. [Baranov] Speaking of common sense. Is resumption of work on the construction of the Crimean Atomic Electric Power Station possible? [Ermakov] The probability of that is low: first of all, everything has long ago been pilfered, and, secondly, it is necessary to return to the numerous expert reviews and determine whether it was emotion or real miscalculations by designers that did not permit the completion of this construction project. My view is that atomic electric power stations should not be built in Crimea. That would be a sin. Particularly since we |
FBIS3-24033_1 | Ukraine Seen as Moving Under Russia's Influence | again insisted upon Ukraine's becoming a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. But what then about the promises of security guarantees? Is anybody in a hurry to accord them to Ukraine? All the more so when it would involve making uniquivocal moves in international policy? It was important for Ukraine to be made a part of the program entitled "Partnership for Peace": this was a display of trust in Ukraine on the part of the NATO members. As a member of this partnership, Ukraine adopted the Russian viewpoint with regard to the Serbian problem. Nowadays, after the withdrawal of Serbian troops from the frontline, it is still too early to assess the correctness or incorrectness of the Ukrainian stance on this matter. The Russian peace initiatives and actions in Abkhazia ended with the drama of the Georgian state. Ukrainian politicians are seeking answers to the question of what lies behind the fact that the Serbs believed only the Russians. All the more so in that Russia's presidential adviser--on the occasion of the new situation in the Balkans--made the following statement: "We need to be able to persuade people and know how to take advantage of the opportune moment." In this situation Western commentators traditionally consider the Russians' diplomatic mission as a triumph, while expressing great surprise at the stance taken by Ukraine. The latter's democratic politicians have emphatically proclaimed that in foreign policy we must uneqivocally pose the matter as follows: "Either national interests or old-time sentiments!" This matter has gained new urgency since the reasons for the "Russian diplomatic triumph" have been figured out. Situations sometimes occur whereby military people reveal that which the diplomats have striven so zealously and long to conceal. On 19 February a certain Russian general in an interview for the Ostankino Televison Company said the following straight out: "If NATO intervenes in a sphere of influence which is not theirs, unforeseen consequences could result." He thereby emphatically asserted for the umpteenth time that the world is divided into zones of influence. And so it turns out that the prolonged war in the Balkans is a consequence of the above-mentioned division. If decisiveness and determination had been shown, this military conflagration on the territory of the former Yugoslavia could have been extinguished long ago. When matters started to turn threatening for certain NATO members (Greece and Turkey), this organization showed firmness. Tens of thousands of |
FBIS3-24037_4 | Justice Minister on Legal System Reforms | in the work of international symposiums and conferences on legal issues. On more than one occasion we received invitations from various international organizations for us to study judicial systems functioning in different countries. Recently personnel from our ministry visited Germany, Italy, and Switzerland where they studied the operation of law enforcement organs. Experts from international organizations favored the extension of aid to specialists of Moldova in the area of law, and the problem concerning training and retraining of our personnel is being resolved along with the one pertaining to the provision of courts of the republic with necessary technical means. We are striving to expand the sphere of such contacts and to create all possible premises for fruitful collaboration with jurists in foreign countries to the benefit of our republic. [Dubovoy] An important place in the work of the Ministry of Justice is occupied by the preparation and conclusion of international agreements on legal aid and legal relations in the area of civil, criminal and family law. A few words about how this area of jurisprudence is faring. [Barbaneagra] The elaboration of such agreements is a complicated and a laborious matter. As of today Moldova has signed agreements on legal aid and legal relations in the area of civil, criminal, and family law with Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, and Lithuania. In the very near future such agreements will be concluded with Georgia and Azerbaijan, as well as other republics of the former USSR. As far as legal aid for the population is concerned, as a result of a significant rise in the cost of legal services of jurists, the citizens of Moldova are reverting to their services much less frequently which, for understandable reasons, cannot help but alert us since that, I am assuming, is also a matter of state policy. [Dubovoy] What else is of concern to the minister of justice? [Barbaneagra] A rise in the crime rate, a certain pathological lack of respect for existing laws is disturbing. Democratic transformations in the republic are being hindered by delays in the adoption of judicial and legal reforms. The imperfect nature of the legislation and in certain cases its absence, makes it impossible to resolve many vitally important problems of society. One would like to believe that many of today's problems will be resolved and democratic transformations in the Republic of Moldova will acquire a firm legal basis. [Dubovoy] Thank you. |
FBIS3-24050_0 | Aleksey Kiva Views Amnesty, Possible Consequences | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Article by Aleksey Kiva under rubric "At the Crossroads of Opinions": "Amnesty: Pros and Cons"] [Text] I tend to associate our stormy political life simultaneously with American roller-coasters and Russian swashbuckling horseback races. Here, as a rule, there are both sudden sharp, nerve-tingling curves and people tumbling from the saddle. Just a few days ago public attention zeroed in on the President's State of the Nation message to the Federal Assembly. Then, after barely having time to discuss it meaningfully, we, voluntarily or involuntarily, switched our attention to the development of the plot spawned by the amnesty. And now we are suddenly faced with the fact of the precipitous release from Lefortovo Prison of Aleksandr Rutskoy, Ruslan Khasbulatov, Albert Makashov, Viktor Anpilov, Ilya Konstantinov, and other instigators of the bloody October events and Mayday clashes, which also had casualties. Also absolved of punishment, regardless of the court's decision, are the organizers of the unsuccessful August coup. At the same time, Procurator-General Aleksey Kazannik was relieved of his position, albeit ostensibly at his own request. But let us get away from emotions and make an effort to comprehend all this, taking into account, among other things, the subsequent "exposure" of the ex-procurator. First, what actually happened? The Duma passed a decree in full conformity with the Constitution, though one could, of course, argue where amnesty ends and pardon begins and what, actually, are the prerogatives of the Duma and the President. But such a debate would surely be unproductive. What guided the Duma, or more precisely, the majority of its members? As the decree states, objectives of "national reconciliation, achievement of civil peace and concord." We can assume that it had other, or even entirely different, objectives. More precisely, some deputies were really guided by the idea of reconciliation, some were moved by revenge, some pursued their personal or group political goals, including setting their sights on the presidential election, some cherished the goal of destabilizing the situation, and so on. So what? That is real politics, the vector of which is the sum of the actions and reactions of many interests. It is another question how the Constitution could make such a sensitive, multidimensional problem as amnesty, moreover at such a complex, transitional stage from one social system to another, the sole prerogative of the Duma? But, Messrs. comrades, who is to blame but those who |
FBIS3-24050_1 | Aleksey Kiva Views Amnesty, Possible Consequences | subsequent "exposure" of the ex-procurator. First, what actually happened? The Duma passed a decree in full conformity with the Constitution, though one could, of course, argue where amnesty ends and pardon begins and what, actually, are the prerogatives of the Duma and the President. But such a debate would surely be unproductive. What guided the Duma, or more precisely, the majority of its members? As the decree states, objectives of "national reconciliation, achievement of civil peace and concord." We can assume that it had other, or even entirely different, objectives. More precisely, some deputies were really guided by the idea of reconciliation, some were moved by revenge, some pursued their personal or group political goals, including setting their sights on the presidential election, some cherished the goal of destabilizing the situation, and so on. So what? That is real politics, the vector of which is the sum of the actions and reactions of many interests. It is another question how the Constitution could make such a sensitive, multidimensional problem as amnesty, moreover at such a complex, transitional stage from one social system to another, the sole prerogative of the Duma? But, Messrs. comrades, who is to blame but those who drew up the draft Constitution and introduced the final amendments to it? Tantrums should have been thrown then; now it's too late. Or, perhaps, at the time people had forgotten about Lefortovo? Second. Every complex matter has its pros and cons. Let us start with the latter. With the cons, for it is precisely they that are now arousing public opinion. Of concern is precisely what Kazannik spoke of in his resignation statement. It is dangerous and immoral to set free people who are guilty of the death and injuries of many people and of causing considerable material damage. Yes, that is so. Evil must be punished, because otherwise it tends to spread like a cancerous tumor. Essentially, the bloody October events became possible only because the organizers of the bloody May events had remained unpunished, and before them, the organizers of the Ostankino pogroms. The "implacable opposition" was quite openly preparing for violent actions with virtually no significant opposition. On the contrary, it was wholeheartedly supported by the former Supreme Soviet and enjoyed its patronage, coupled with the fact that the procurator's office and court mishandled things, and even now we find that the Procurator-General, whose resignation was swiftly |
FBIS3-24051_1 | Sobchak on Politics, Reform, Zhirinovskiy | time we held elections in an environment of a multiparty system, by party lists (other than elections in single-seat districts). Now about the results. In order for the results to be different, we should have avoided mistakes--the government, the president, and the political parties. But it was clear from the very beginning that the new parliament would be a motley crew. Nevertheless, the elections did take place. There is a new parliament. What its fate will be depends to a large extent on itself. For me, the important part is that we will no longer be in the same political dead end we have been in for more than two years. Looking back at the elections today, what remains to be done is to analyze honestly, harshly, and objectively why the outcome was completely different than that we had hoped for. When I say "we," I mean politicians and organizations of a democratic orientation. Nevertheless, we have taken a giant step down the road of establishing democracy in Russia. O. Moroz, editorial board member: It appears to me that over the past two years you have faded as a politician. How do you explain this? Are you counting on a second wind? Do you intend to run for president in 1996? In your opinion, who will be president? A. Sobchak: Relatively faded... I myself do not feel that I have faded... Because I have lived the last two years at the limit of my abilities. I worked perhaps more, and more actively, than previously in the parliament. When I came to the parliament from academia, teaching seemed like leisure to me. Now I am responsible for the life of a 5-million-strong city, parliamentary work seems rather easy and free of responsibilities. Here, the responsibility is different: You are responsible for the life of a city where something happens every day. Today it is a fire in the Admiralty; tomorrow an entire rayon--300,000-400,000 people--is without heat, light, and water. Or, for instance, the situation with purification systems... City residents are not even aware of the situations we encounter in the old city with decrepit communications. That is why I perhaps do not participate in political life as actively as I did when I was a member of the Supreme Soviet and the Congress. But I am involved in the work of the government, the Presidential Council, and in drafting many decisions. |
FBIS3-24064_3 | Chelyabinsk 1993 Socioeconomic Figures Reported | in industry--R143.2 billion (56.4 percent). Indebtedness on loans that were received amounted to R31.2 billion, of which 86.8 percent was in industry. As a result of the lack of money in the working accounts there continues to be growth of defaulted indebtedness on funds granted for consumption. As of 1 January 1994 this sum in industry, construction, and agriculture amounted to R31.7 million, which is 1.3 times more than during the entire 11 months. PRIVATIZATION Over the year documents were filled out for the privatization of 1,023 facilities, including 703 municipally owned enterprises (68.7 percent of the overall number of enterprises, 90 owned by the oblast (8.8 percent), and 230 federally owned (22.5 percent). The overall value of the property of privatized enterprises exceeds R172.1 billion. Privatization is proceeding most actively with municipally owned enterprises. A total of 255 enterprises are being converted into joint-stock companies--this is one-fourth of the enterprises that submitted documents for privatization. Of the three versions of benefits offered to the labor collectives, preference is given to the second version which enables the labor collective to have a controlling block of shares. This version of benefits was chosen by 70 percent of the enterprises that became joint-stock companies. About R18 billion in capital was received from privatization, which is 3.4 times more than during the first half of 1993. Most of the capital (about 60 percent) remains on the territory of the oblast. Last year 183,800 apartments were privatized in the oblast. As compared to 1992 their number increased 1.6-fold. Since the beginning of privatization (1989-1993) 299,000 apartments have been privatized, which is 35.8 percent of the overall number of apartments subject to privatization. LEVEL AND INDEXES OF PRICES AND RATES The consolidated consumer price index for the full range of goods and services in December 1993 as compared to December 1992 amounted to 1,024.6 percent. During the course of the year consumer prices and rates rose most rapidly for paid services rendered to the population. In December 1993 as compared to December 1992 they increased 48.1-fold, including services of a legal nature--664.3-fold, of cultural institutions--170.4-fold, and housing and municipal services--60.2-fold. A decisive impact on the growth of overall consumer prices was made by the change in prices of foodstuffs, which make up a large proportion of them. In December 1993 as compared to December 1992 consumer prices for food products increased 9.1-fold, including vegetables--22.2-fold, potatoes--19.2-fold, |
FBIS3-24066_1 | Nomenklatura Threatens Nakhodka Free Economic Zone Status Businessmen State Complaints | essence, all this is the result of opposition of the two primary political forces in the city. One of them is represented by the managers of most of the city's major enterprises, who have made their careers within the command-administrative system and who are trying to hold on to their positions at any cost. The other is comprised of self-made individuals, people who represent the entrepreneurial milieu. Both occupy an important place in the structure of the FEZ. But, unfortunately, they have still not found a common language. Nevertheless, certain goals have been achieved. Government decree No. 540 regarding the FEZ "Nakhodka" has largely lost its effectiveness, especially in regard to customs and tax benefits. The actions of Viktor Gnezdilov may have a much more lamentable effect for the territory. In the opinion of the financial director of the FEZ administrative committee, Valentin Zavadnikov, as a result of the aggressive exercises of the mayor, the zone will never even see the new tax credit for 1994. And this means a loss of over 100 billion rubles (R), a considerable portion of which would have been handed over on a non-compensatory basis to the city administration for social, cultural and domestic needs. There is another piece of joyless information for the stockholders of Nakhodka enterprises. In the opinion of the director of the Nakhodka Financial Joint-Stock Company, Gennadiy Zuyev, the result of the perturbations which are taking place will be a sharp and significant decline in the exchange rate of stocks in local AO [joint-stock companies]. The decline in business activity on the territory of the FEZ not only by domestic, but also by foreign businessmen is entirely predictable. The situation underlying the events is rather primitive--a banal struggle for power. For this V. Gnezdilov needs to maximally weaken the positions of the FEZ administrative committee and place his own people in key positions. And that is what is going on now. Why did the heads of administration of Nakhodka and Partizanskiy Rayon adopt a decree on the de facto elimination of independence of the administrative committee, giving it the status of a department under the city administration? This contradicts the government decree, according to which the administrative committee is subordinate to the government of Russia. Making use of the fact that former administrative committee chairman Igor Ustinov became a deputy in the State Duma and left to work in Moscow, |
FBIS3-24074_8 | White Book Issued on Moscow Environmental Conditions | 6.9 1988 13.1 12.0 +1.1 5.3 5.5 1989 11.8 12.4 -0.6 3.9 4.0 1990 10.5 12.8 -2.3 2.2 2.3 1991 9.2 12.9 -3.7 0.7 0.6 Attention: Counterfeit! [by A. I. Leontyev] Not only money but even Karavayev therapeutic balms are being counterfeited. Almost 3 years ago the Public Fund To Promote Research and Initiatives of Citizens on Making Man and the Environment Healthy was set up in Moscow; it was named after V. V. Karavayev, the philosopher and scientist who formulated the integrated preventive-therapeutic system. A person can be healthy only when the three basic metabolic processes in his system occur normally, Karavayev asserted. They include a physiologically normal diet, breathing, and the exchange of mental information (thinking). Any deviation in these processes has an immediate effect on the acid-base equilibrium (ABE) in the blood. Each person can ascertain the ABE in his blood by the color of the conjunctiva (the inside surface of the lower eyelid). Normally it is bright pink. If there is a skew toward the alkaline, it is dark red to beet red. With a skew toward acidic, it is pale pink. For most of our fellow countrymen, the ABE of the blood is skewed toward acidic (acidosis). Karavayev balms, which affect the skin and mucous membranes, are one way to restore the balance. They are Vitaon, a butyric extract, Auron, a hydrous extract, and Somaton, a hydrous-butyric extract, from medicinal plants. There are from 9 to 13 medicinal herbs in them, including St. John's wort, yarrow, mint, calendula, licorice, thyme, and others. The therapeutic qualities of the balms are unique, and urologists, stomatologists, gynecologists, gastroenterologists, radiologists, and other specialists immediately started to use them. The Karavayev Fund developed the technology and organized industrial production of the balms. They immediately became popular among Muscovites and do not last long on pharmacy shelves. Unfortunately, slick operators have recently, at the peak of the balms' popularity, begun moving in: counterfeit Karavayev balms have appeared, poured into similar bottles and with Karavayev labels. But the counterfeits do not have the therapeutic effect inherent in the real Karavayev balms. One can distinguish the Karavayev balms from the counterfeits only by looking at the quality passport on the Karavayev balms. The seal and stamp of the Karavayev Fund should be there. So before you lay down your good money, ask the manager of the pharmacy to show you the appropriate documents. |
FBIS3-24079_0 | News From St Petersburg Poll on Voting Intentions Shows Differences From December | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Article by R. Mogilevskiy, general director of the Sociological Scientific Research Center Joint-Stock Company, under the rubric "Social Monitoring": "A Choice for Centuries?"] [Text] Three-quarters of Petersburg voters would vote today the same way they did on 12 December. On the other hand, 7 percent of those participating in elections today would not turn out altogether, and another 10 percent are not certain they would vote the same way. Another 7 percent of voters today would vote differently. The greatest number of those who definitely would change their decision are among those who voted by party lists--4 percent. The smallest--in federal and one-seat districts--1 percent each. Thus, had the elections taken place today, the Petersburg electorate most likely would have reaffirmed its choice. The only questionable variable is the outcome of the referendum, which required a 50 percent plus one electoral turnout. The elections are an accomplished fact, however, and now Russian voters may watch their doing. It appears that their observations do not add to their joy. In any case, in Petersburg only 9 percent of respondents are satisfied with the composition of both chambers of the parliament; only 2 percent are satisfied with the composition of the State Duma, and 5 percent--with that of the Federation Council. Those not satisfied with the composition of either the State Duma or the Federation Council comprise 45 percent, and 40 percent have no opinion. Of course, different groups of voters have a different idea of the approximate composition of the parliament chambers. It is clear, however, that the deputies' authority in the eyes of Petersburg voters is low. In discussions over the past few weeks a hypothesis was advanced that the success of the LDPR, which received about [figure illegible]8 percent of the vote in Petersburg, was due to the fact that the candidates had been able to recruit new, previously passive, groups of voters. Our research does not support this hypothesis. Ninety-two percent are voters who after 1990 have participated in all or almost all elections and referendums. So most likely a certain change in the preference structure is to be explained by a shift on the part of the electorate to different political values and social expectations. Thus, on the threshold of elections to the City Assembly, voter preferences remain practically the same as they were before 12 December. The political fate of the representative |
FBIS3-24079_1 | News From St Petersburg Poll on Voting Intentions Shows Differences From December | choice. The only questionable variable is the outcome of the referendum, which required a 50 percent plus one electoral turnout. The elections are an accomplished fact, however, and now Russian voters may watch their doing. It appears that their observations do not add to their joy. In any case, in Petersburg only 9 percent of respondents are satisfied with the composition of both chambers of the parliament; only 2 percent are satisfied with the composition of the State Duma, and 5 percent--with that of the Federation Council. Those not satisfied with the composition of either the State Duma or the Federation Council comprise 45 percent, and 40 percent have no opinion. Of course, different groups of voters have a different idea of the approximate composition of the parliament chambers. It is clear, however, that the deputies' authority in the eyes of Petersburg voters is low. In discussions over the past few weeks a hypothesis was advanced that the success of the LDPR, which received about [figure illegible]8 percent of the vote in Petersburg, was due to the fact that the candidates had been able to recruit new, previously passive, groups of voters. Our research does not support this hypothesis. Ninety-two percent are voters who after 1990 have participated in all or almost all elections and referendums. So most likely a certain change in the preference structure is to be explained by a shift on the part of the electorate to different political values and social expectations. Thus, on the threshold of elections to the City Assembly, voter preferences remain practically the same as they were before 12 December. The political fate of the representative branch in the city will be decided by a group of "familiar" voters, of whom more than 60 percent are women, 70 percent are persons over 40, about 70 percent have higher and intermediate vocational education, as a rule working, and more than 60 percent are workers and office workers. The assembly composition will depend on whether the candidates find arguments and political programs that will preserve or change these people's choice, for, as research shows, it is hardly possible to count on a mass influx of new voters in March. The survey was conducted by the St. Petersburg Sociological Scientific-Research Center by way of telephone polling. The sample included 1,105 respondents. The statistical error along controlled parameters (sex, age, and education) is within 3 percent. |
FBIS3-24081_0 | News From St Petersburg Deputy Candidate on Use of Local TV | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Article by Sergey Popov, senior instructor of the Technical University, candidate for City Assembly deputy: "You Fail, Gentlemen!"] [Text] The mayoralty could not find anything better to do than to read on the radio to the entire city the data on each candidate to the City Assembly. There are a lot of candidates--750, and not much air time. So they give us less than a minute to get acquainted with each candidate. Can the broadcasting network made available by the radio and television company be used more effectively? Of course it can. And the solution is right there, on the surface. It would suffice to broadcast in each rayon of the city only the information on candidates going on the ballot from this rayon. Then in Kalininskiy Rayon, for instance, you would only need to provide information about five electoral districts rather than 50, and in Oktyabrskiy Rayon--only one. This way, air time would be used 10 times more effectively in Kalininskiy Rayon and 50 times more effectively in Oktyabrskiy Rayon! Is there, though, the technical capability to simultaneously broadcast different programs in different rayons of St. Petersburg? Yes, there is. In a number of rayons such "rayon-wide" broadcasting has been the practice once or twice a week for quite a while. And nothing prevented the mayoralty from organizing such rayon-targeted election broadcasts. I think that in this rather simple matter the mayoralty uses the resources made available by the radio and television company (that is, in the final analysis, the taxpayers money) with a utilization coefficient of between 2 and 10 percent. In any case, I usually fail my students who show this sort of productivity. |
FBIS3-24088_0 | Kazan Admin Chief Reports to City Soviet | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Speech by Kamil Iskhakov, chief of the administration of the city of Kazan, at the 17th session of the City Soviet of People's Deputies] [Text] On the Socioeconomic Situation of Kazan Esteemed people's deputies! The relative stability in the Republic of Tatarstan and its capital has become a fact, a phenomenon against which many regions of Russia are "measuring themselves." But a "slice of life" from the economy shows that positive tendencies have been achieved in far from all spheres and, moreover, the picture has many contrasts. What has brought this about? An in-depth analysis confirms that results are achieved in places where an active role is assigned to the city's executive team. In other words, we are speaking about possibilities--legal and financial--of pursuing a strong municipal policy. And, conversely, where our positions have been weak--weak from the standpoint of power of the authorities and instruments of administration--there the situation remains difficult. I have in mind above all, of course, the capital's industrial sector. We have always been proud of the fact that Kazan is a large industrial center, a city whose economy is deeply integrated into the economy not only of the republic, but also of the USSR, which is now a part of the past. And now this situation is a kind of heavy cross which the city has to bear. Suffice it to say that the financial situation [part of text missing]. Searches for the most effective model for combining market relations with state regulation of the economy have been under way for a whole year. And although stability has not come to the industrial sector, certain positive strides cannot but be noted. The results of 1993 show that the decline of industrial production, as predicted, has slowed somewhat, amounting to 14 percent of the 1992 figure. This is somewhat better than in the republic as a whole, where the decline was 14.9 percent and for the Russian Federation, where it reached 16.2 percent. We are very alarmed by the way 1994 has begun. According to the January results, industrial enterprises have allowed production to drop by 21.6 percent. It does not help much to know that the major and deepest-seated reasons lie beyond our reach. They include a narrowing of the sales market, a sharp reduction of state orders, the lack of a reliable mechanism for mutual settlements, etc. Suffice it to |
FBIS3-24094_0 | Kozyrev Outlines Tenets of `Common European Partnership' | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Article by Andrey Kozyrev, Russian Federation Minister of Foreign Affairs: "Common European Partnership; Today It Is the Key Concept in Russian Foreign Policy"] [Text] It has long ago become clear that, under current conditions, aggressive nationalism, the doctrines of Brezhnev and the "Berlin wall," the aspirations for domination and "sanitary cordons" are unacceptable. At the present time it is necessary to ensure for all of Europe a strong stability and security, and to jointly overcome conflicts on national grounds. In order to achieve this goal, we must develop a consistent strategy of action which strengthens the unity of all the democratic states of Europe, a common European partnership. Today, agreements on partnership and announcements of intentions are clearly apparent. However, there is as yet no regulated stable and mature partnership which is backed by the necessary resources. This is evidenced by the difficulties which Russia is encountering, along with other post-communist countries, in conducting negotiations with the Western partners regarding access to the market without discrimination and on the basis of free competition. For example, today the European Union proposes for democratic Russia a ceiling of 10 percent for the export of nuclear materials, while even quite recently the Soviet Union had 16 percent. Partnership in the political sphere is still being subjected to serious trials along the sharp turns of European policy. The latest example is the unilateral ultimatum on Sarajevo. One may debate the expediency or inexpediency of the threat of using forceful measures by a certain deadline. Today this matter has passed and there is no sense in returning to a review of all the "pros" and "cons." However, it is obvious that the adoption of such decisions without consultation, with coordination with all the key state officials participating in the search for Yugoslav regulation, in this case with Russia, in itself introduces an unnecessary element of tension and, frankly speaking, risk. This is why today it is important not to lose the tempo, to make use of the moment of positive movement created by the initiative of President Boris Yeltsin, which has led to an important breakthrough in lifting the blockade of Sarajavo. We need energetic and necessarily joint actions. Moreover, these may even be rather decisive measures, but they must be jointly undertaken. In the context of unified efforts, the individual powers, as well as their associations, including NATO, will find |
FBIS3-24094_5 | Kozyrev Outlines Tenets of `Common European Partnership' | for North Atlantic Cooperation (CNAC)--into an independent structure of military-political cooperation, but one which is closely tied to the CSCE. The goal is to coordinate the efforts of NATO, the EC [European Community], the Council of Europe, the West European countries and the WEU [Western European Union], and the CIS in the sphere of strengthening stability and security, peacemaking and protection of the rights of national minorities in Europe. Second. Increasing cooperation within the framework of the CNAC with the involvement of the neutral states of Europe, including on the realization of the program, "Partnership in the Name of Peace," on an equal basis, and turning the CNAC into an independent agency with a compact secretariat. The CNAC may become the common European laboratory for peacemaking, greater openness in military activity and conversion of the VPK [military-industrial complex]. Third. Formulating a network of mutually-supplementing bilateral agreements on partnership, cooperation and consultations not only between NATO, on the one hand, and the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine and so forth, but also between the states which are not members of the alliance. We do not exclude the possibility that Russia too will someday become a part of NATO, but today the key factor is the concept of partnership. The advantage and, if you will, the farsightedness of the program adopted by NATO leaders, "Partnership in the Name of Peace," consists specifically of the fact that it seems to open up NATO and takes the first step in changing it over from a block to some other form of security organization. And so, common European partnership fits entirely into our conception. In the future we see also the opening of a channel of communications between the CIS and NATO. Fourth. Granting the countries of Central Europe reciprocal guarantees of security on the part of Russia and its West European partners. Such a network could be extended to all of Europe. Fifth. Increasing the peacemaking potential of the European states, seeking a unified response by Europe to the conflicts of the new generation. Giving practical aid in peacemaking efforts of Russia and the CIS on the territory of the former USSR. Sixth. Strengthening the European component of the regimen of nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, other types of mass destruction weapons and missile technologies, as well as promises to tighten control over the sale of "dual purpose" technologies and the most |
FBIS3-24097_5 | 1993 Foreign Trade Performance Reviewed | is planning to fully withdraw from this sphere of activities in 1995. All indications are that this will occasion major changes in the structure of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations itself. As far as changes directly in the area of export and import operations are concerned, the determination to discontinue grain purchases abroad beginning next year is noteworthy. In general, Russian foreign trade will to a considerable degree depend on the domestic economic situation, what paths the reforms take, and what the next steps of the Russian Government in the economic area turn out to be. The main avenues for the operation of the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations in 1994 are: --perfecting the regulatory and legal base for regulating foreign economic activities (VED); --cutting back administrative methods and perfecting economic methods for the regulation of foreign economic activities; --reinforcing export and foreign exchange control; --creating a favorable regimen of trade in relations with foreign countries; --ensuring the accomplishment of tasks in export and import operations to meet federal state needs; --ensuring support for Russian exports; --stimulating the attraction of foreign investment to Russia; --settling the issue of the repayment of the debt of foreign states to Russia; --coordinating and facilitating the development of foreign economic activities of the regions of Russia; --improving informational and cadre support for foreign economic activities. All the above avenues appear important. However, it makes sense to focus in particular on problems associated with the operation of the currency market in Russia. The point is that, in the environment of a high rate of inflation, the exchange rate of the ruble on the currency market has recently been maintained at an artificially high level. As a result, a paradoxical situation developed in January--even the export of oil and refinery products from Russia ended up unprofitable at the maintained ratio of 1,160 rubles [R] to the dollar. Oleg Davydov believes that had the exchange rate of the ruble not fallen below the line of R1,500 to the dollar, export shipments could have simply stopped. Consequently, foreign exchange proceeds from exports, which come to $3-3.5 billion, would have ceased. Therefore, the sphere of foreign economic activities develops in a close interrelationship with domestic economic development. When particular measures are implemented in the economic sphere, it is necessary to soberly evaluate the entire range of possible side effects which, in terms of consequences, may prove far more |
FBIS3-24120_3 | Ambassador Abashidze on Europe's Interest in Georgia | into a major mechanism of Western-Eastern military and political integration. There is already some talk of giving NACC the right to perform certain operative functions, in particular peace-keeping operations. I don't think we have yet fully realized the importance of Georgia's participation in NACC; it marks a first step toward bringing us closer to Western defense structures. I think the current year is very promising in this regard. A foreign ministers' meeting approved the Council's working plan for 1994, which, inter alia, calls for joint military exercises; this would be especially valuable for our army, which is in the formation stage. In May, our military specialists will begin to train in NATO training centers. There is extensive discussion now in the West (NATO in particular) concerning America's new "Partnership for Peace" initiative, which calls for raising NATO's relations with Central and Eastern Europe to a new level. What that actually means will become known after the meeting of officials of NATO's member states. [Sakinform] Might NATO armed forces get involved in the Caucasus, for example to restore stability in Georgia? [Abashidze] Such a move could happen only under UN auspices and would first require a joint decision of NATO's members. Remember, that "aggressive bloc" has never been involved in armed conflict. Even in the heart of Europe--former Yugoslavia--UN forces are only involved in humanitarian aid. NATO is especially cautious toward the former socialist countries, believing that a hasty rapprochement could infuse NATO's environment with the events and elements of conflict that are characteristic of the East at this stage--spreading our infections to NATO, so to speak. The opinion in the West is that NATO's intervention in the affairs of the former socialist countries would only strengthen anti-Western and revanchist sentiments in Russia, which is still suspicious of that organization. Consider, also, the experience of UN forces' actions in former Yugoslavia and Somalia, which didn't exactly produce positive results. So, judge for yourself. [Sakinform] What practical steps were taken to broaden our relations with the European Union in 1990 [as printed]? [Abashidze] Let me start with the practical aid the Union provided. In 1993 this association of Western Europe's 12 leading countries again allocated us 40 million ecus in earmarked credit, which will soon be used to supply Georgia with wheat, margarine, sugar, and medicine (our creditors aren't going to hound us for this loan). We have been allocated humanitarian aid |
FBIS3-24126_2 | Conversion of Foreign Currency Credits into Tubles To Boost Economy | same time, one should emphasize the exceptional profitability, and this means also the exceptional scale, of the forthcoming operations, which does not simply lead to enriching individual commercial structures, but has a major influence on the entire development of Russian society. The spare capital of the world economy many times exceeds the entire monetary mass circulating on the territory of our country. As a result of the strong conservatism of the financial market, this change in investment volumes will be quite smooth, and society will most likely succeed in adapting to its individual manifestations. The scale and depth of the influence to which Russia is to be subjected in the next few years, however, makes it necessary to foresee at least its basic consequences, which should not take us unawares -- as, for example, when the catastrophic exacerbation of the deficit (depressed inflation), connected with the mass pumping of non-cash monies into the wage fund, took us unawares in 1988 and 1990. The influx of currency funds is capable of replacing the administrative mechanism of the infusion of centralized funds with the market mechanism and therefore, with the much more effective mechanism of an infusion of commercial credit. Under these conditions, the variant, approved in world practice, of a unified emission mechanism, in which the increase in the national monetary mass would be limited by the influx of foreign currency, would be fully applicable. It is this mechanism which improved the war-destroyed financial systems of Europe and Argentina (the latter was poised on the brink of hyper-inflation, periodically breaking down into it, over a period of six decades). In this way, we would by-pass major acceleration of a rise in prices. The possible surpluses of the monetary mass would be small and would be compensated for with the aid of the "fine tuning" of the Central Bank (an efficient change of the discount rate and norms for reserves, differentiation of the latter by types of assets) and with the aid of the natural expansion of the markets (through the share market and the real estate market). The effect of the "currency vacuum cleaners" may become the most important instrument for surmounting the economic crisis and the main path to regenerating Russia as a supreme power. They should therefore be supported to the utmost by the state, right up to creating the corresponding insurance funds for the capital coming into Russia. |
FBIS3-24133_22 | National Socioeconomic Statistics for 1993 | (28 percent less). The number of passengers carried by general-use transport fell 5 percent compared with 1992. A proportion of passenger traffic was switched to relatively cheaper rail transport, where passenger numbers increased by 7 percent. Road passenger traffic fell by 6 percent, inland water passenger traffic fell 16 percent, and air passenger traffic was down 29 percent. In air transport passenger traffic on internal routes was down 37 percent whereas on international routes it rose by 29 percent. Public transport rolling stock is in bad technical condition. At least one-tenth of the registered fleet of passenger cars and street cars and trolleys are being used beyond the end of their operational life. At general-use motor transport establishments almost one third of buses have depreciated completely and are due to be written off. The constantly rising transport tariffs do not cover the costs of transport enterprises and do not enable them to update the vehicle fleet. As a result the number of vehicles in use on the roads is falling and routes are being canceled or reduced. In December one regional center in four failed to fulfill more than 15 percent of planned bus, trolley, and street car journeys. Public taxi transport has become virtually unaffordable for the population and the volume of journeys halved over the year. The quality of passenger services remains low. In 1993, 32 million bus journeys were canceled and 4.7 million buses were late arriving at their final destination. Some 27 percent of internal flights failed to keep to schedule, and the average delay was over five hours. In rail transport in 1993, 36,000 trains (8 percent) (leaving aside suburban trains) were late on average 1.1 hours. The year 1993 saw the further development of communications networks and facilities, and this applies first and foremost to intercity and international telephone communications. An international telephone complex has been launched. A 24-hour outgoing automatic exchange has been opened for all subscribers in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In 70 cities in Russia international high-speed postal communications services are being offered. At the same time, a check carried out by the statistical organs has revealed substantial violations of the delivery deadlines. Over the year communications enterprises provided services worth R1.6 trillion, including services to the population totaling R314 billion, which is 12 times more in actual current prices than in 1992. At the same time the volume of communications |
FBIS3-24144_4 | `Omnipotence' of Corruption in Power Structure Deplored | and the state's monopolistic power over ownership," he is, of course, right. No less important, however -- particularly under the present Russian conditions -- is the way the state parts with its property. A unique process -- even the Chinese phenomenon bears only a distant resemblance -- is taking place in Russia right now, a process of alienation from the state and feverish dividing up of huge property worth hundreds of billions of dollars. It is being done actually behind the scenes, outside democratic control, farmed out to an army of officials, many units of which were corrupted from the start. The formal participation in this process of part of the population and work collectives is, of course, no hindrance to it. They have absolutely no understanding of either the essence or the technology of what is taking place, and are subject to pressure from the management of the enterprises, which makes wide use of the threat of unemployment as a warning to "parliament." This system of privatization is undoubtedly a fantastically powerful supplementary feeding factor for the corruption bacchanalia. Finally, corruption in Russia, as everywhere, incidentally, does not boil down to merely embezzlement of public funds and bribery. Perhaps, though, it is in our country, against a background of the boundless "flood" of them and the loss of ideals that political, moral corruption has taken on immeasurable scope. It has dragged many state officials, parliamentarians and professionals of various colors into its rapids. I am not concerned with the privileges with which the state pays for the stress, fervor and loyalty of its officials, although, of course, I do not agree with Ye. Gaydar when he states that it is "not a struggle against privileges, and especially not unappetizing populist outcries on this subject" that we need to counter corruption. The temptation is great to recall that these "outcries" were the main hobby-horse of the democrats in their campaign for power. The point, however, lies in something different: privileges stimulate corruption, if they are not open and known to society, but are secret. I have something else in mind: not only is conformism widespread among by no means ordinary statesmen, but also a readiness to "swap" their political, civic duty for material and other blessings, for the favors of the top echelons, and also for the strides of authority encouraging this trend. Commonplace on our public scene are the |
FBIS3-24145_5 | MVD Assesses Fight Against Crime 1993-94 | given to the prevention of violent crimes associated with drunkenness, gross behavior, moral squalor, personal animosity among some people, senseless and savage fights, and bodily harm and murder for domestic reasons. Last year, and with a view to improving the situation in everyday life, control was established over 43,700 locations with high concentration of criminogenic elements, including 34,000 dens of alcoholics and drug addicts. Some 290,000 alcoholics and 6,500 drug addicts were committed to voluntary or compulsory treatment. Adiministrative legislation was actively applied for preventive purposes. Proceedings for petty hooliganism were instituted against 1.168 million persons and 254,000 persons guilty of scandalous debauched behavior within the family. Persons returning from places of detention were monitored by the militia. Any actions by those among them who attemted to resume their past activity were cut short. Criminal proceedings were instituted against 287,000, and administrative proceedings against 280,000 persons who had committed crimes previously. One of the main tasks was to prevent child vagrancy and offenses by adolescents. Some 267,000 "difficult" adolescents were taken under preventive supervision. As a result of the work that was done, about 130,000 were taken off the records due to their rehabilitation. Measures were taken against 63,000 parents who were neglecting their children's upbringing, and case files on 13,000 of them were sent to the courts to decide the question of deprivation of parental rights. But there was no success in halting the growth of adolescent crime. The reason is that the level of society's moral influence on the younger generation declined everywhere. The numerous science and technology study circles and free sports facilities for children have closed down. The number of adolescents without parental supervision has increased. Many organs of local self-government have ceased paying attention to jobs for adolescents and the organization of their free time. Whereas two-thirds of minors on the militia's records vacationed out of the cities in 1988, only one-third did so last year. Generally speaking, the negative changes in the status of criminality are the consequence of social prohlems associated with the weakening of state power, the growth of legal nihilism, the moral degradation of some groups of the population, the aggravation of the population's incomes differentiation, and the emergence of the destitute and the unemployed. Russia's MVD realizes that these problems can be solved only at state level. Therefore, much hope is pinned on the federal program for the struggle against |
FBIS3-24145_10 | MVD Assesses Fight Against Crime 1993-94 | requirements as regards results from the work to solve crimes. A package of measures has been elaborated and is being implemented to expose persons engaged in racketeering or committing contract murders, burglaries, robberies with violence, hijackings of motor vehicles, and thefts of cultural treasures. We still have to improve the system for tracing criminals who are on the run from investigation and court proceedings and persons who have vanished without trace, especially those who have disappeared in criminal circumstances. The work of tracing operations groups will be stepped up to expose extortionists, robbers, thieves, organizers of fraudulent gambling, and other criminal elements. At the same time, these and other measures will not yield the desired results unless an end is put to the persistent judicial practice of passing unjustifiably soft sentences on persons guilty of committing serious crimes. During the first half of last year, and despite the commission of crimes in aggravating circumstances, criminal punishment sentences not involving detention were passed on about 60 percent of persons guilty of thefts and on more than 50 percent of persons involved in robberies. The courts passed detention sentences on only 9.2 percent of officials and other persons in positions of responsibility found guilty of embezzlement by misappropriation, fraud, or abuse of office in aggravating circumstances. Almost 42 percent of criminals who had committed embezzlement on especially large scale went free. Just over one-third of corrupt functionaries, proved by militia staffers to be guilty of bribery, were given real detention sentences. The Struggle Against Organized and Armed Crime and Corruption Last year the internal affairs organs exposed 5,700 organized crime groups, this being one-third more than in 1992. Criminal proceedings were instituted against 11,400 organizers and active members of criminal groupings. One out of every six groups engaged in interregional criminal activities, while more than 300 groupings committed criminal actions outside Russia either jointly with criminal elements from nearby and distant foreign countries, or autonomously. According to operational data, there was a total of almost 150 major criminal fraternities operating across Russia's territory and controlling the activity of several thousand numerically smaller and less organized groupings. According to operational data, their sphere of influence extended over more than 35,000 entities engaged in economic activity. These mafia-style fraternities tried to divide the federation's territory into spheres of influence, got actively involved in the economy, and lobbied for their interests with power structures at |
FBIS3-24145_21 | MVD Assesses Fight Against Crime 1993-94 | relaibility of protection remains quite stable. On average, there is success in preventing 96 percent of attempted thefts from protected facilities. As a result of this, thefts of property worth many billions of rubles have been prevented. The protection of facilities for the storage of weapons, narcotics, precious metals, historical and artistic treasures, and expensive consumer goods will be stepped up in 1994. At present the extradepartmental protection service has the latest alarm and warning systems and sufficient manpower. We have a chance to conclude contracts for the protection of commercial banks, offices, and so on. All we need is for leaders of enterprises under all forms of ownership to show interest in cooperating with protection service subdivisions. Ensuring Road and Fire Safety A certain volume of work has been done in the sphere of ensuring road safety. Gross violations of the Road Traffic Regulations resulted in the detention of 26 million drivers, including 1.69 million for driving motor vehicles while drunk. State Motor Vehicles Inspectorate [GAI] staffers detected more than 5 million instances of drivers breaking the speed limit and 2.3 million cases of breaches of seat belt regulations. Despite the measures that have been taken, the number of deaths on the roads reached 37,120, while 192,800 Russians were maimed or injured. The deterioration of the quality of Russian roads made a significant contribution to the high incidence of road accidents. The standards elaborated by the MVD, jointly with the Russian Ministry of Transport, for the building and maintenance of roads were not observed by the majority of economic organizations. The new Road Traffic Regulations are designed to enhance road safety. They regularize road traffic in housing zones and farming areas. They clearly define the militia staffers' rights as regards subjecting drivers to breathalyzer tests and the verification of drivers' knowledge of the rules and their driving habits. It is planned to introduce an annual technical inspection of motor vehicles which have been in circulation for more than five years and are used for entrepreneurial activity. Motor vehicles belonging to foreign legal entities and citizens (excluding diplomats) are now subject to state technical inspection. At the same time, Russia's MVD perceives the high incidence of road accidents also as a consequence of the inefficiency of GAI's work. The monitoring of motor vehicles' technical condition remains inadequate. There are frequent instances of rash decisions to regulate road traffic. The problems |
FBIS3-24145_22 | MVD Assesses Fight Against Crime 1993-94 | deaths on the roads reached 37,120, while 192,800 Russians were maimed or injured. The deterioration of the quality of Russian roads made a significant contribution to the high incidence of road accidents. The standards elaborated by the MVD, jointly with the Russian Ministry of Transport, for the building and maintenance of roads were not observed by the majority of economic organizations. The new Road Traffic Regulations are designed to enhance road safety. They regularize road traffic in housing zones and farming areas. They clearly define the militia staffers' rights as regards subjecting drivers to breathalyzer tests and the verification of drivers' knowledge of the rules and their driving habits. It is planned to introduce an annual technical inspection of motor vehicles which have been in circulation for more than five years and are used for entrepreneurial activity. Motor vehicles belonging to foreign legal entities and citizens (excluding diplomats) are now subject to state technical inspection. At the same time, Russia's MVD perceives the high incidence of road accidents also as a consequence of the inefficiency of GAI's work. The monitoring of motor vehicles' technical condition remains inadequate. There are frequent instances of rash decisions to regulate road traffic. The problems of GAI staffers' participation in the tracing of hijacked and stolen vehicles were resolved only slowly. Bearing in mind the extremely complex situation on the roads, Russia's MVD has instructed the GAI to adopt the strictest legal measures against deliberate offenders and to tighten its monitoring of the observance of rules, normatives, and standards operating in this sphere by departments, organizations, and citizens. Measures are also being taken to establish an interregional determent system of militia control points on the highways. The federal computer system for tracing motor vehicles will be brought up to design strength. Intense struggle was waged against fires. The measures that were taken made it possible to reduce their incidence in 26 of Russia's republics, krays, and oblasts. There were fewer fires in buildings for production purposes, stockbreeding premises, and other agricultural production facilities. Fires are less frequently started as a result of breaches of rules governing the installation and use of electrical equipment and domestic electrical appliances. A total of more than 710,600 fires were prevented, while 30,100 persons and material assets worth R94.2 billion were saved from fires. Nonetheless, there were 331,400 fires in Russia last year (5.9 percent more than in 1992), causing |
FBIS3-24146_0 | Russian Coal Industry Jan-Aug 93 Performance Viewed 1.2. The Processing and Output of Clean Coal, Large and Medium-Sized Grades and Briquets | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Report compiled by V.N. Sukhov, canadidate of economic sciences and deputy chief of the Strategic Research and Information Support Administration of the "Rosugol" Company: "Brief Summary of the Russian Coal Industry's Work from January to August 1993"] [Text] 1. Coal Production 1.1. Coal Extraction. Some 198.3 million metric tons of coal (plus 1.3 million metric tons toward the plan adopted by enterprises, 100.7 percent) were extracted from January to August 1993; the decline in extaction compared with 1992 was 21.9 million metric tons (10.0 percent). The trend of a decrease in the amount of coal mined, compared with 1992, is continuing; the rate of decrease rose 0.3 points (from 9.7 to 10.0 percent) from July to August. Compared with July, the amount of coal mined decreased by 949,000 metric tons, or 4.4 percent. It should be noted that reduction of the volume of coal mined, compared with what was extracted in 1992, was stipulated in the plans of 28 of the 34 associations (82.4 percent), because the overall coal extraction plan was set lower by 23.2 million metric tons (10.6 percent). Coal Mined in 1993, By Months Fifteen of the 37 joint-stock companies, associations, and concerns (40.5 percent) did not meet their plan targets, underfulfilling them by 1.35 million metric tons of coal. August 1993 January-August 1993 (in millions of metric tons) Actual More/Less More/Less Actual More/Less More/Less Than Plan Than 1992 Than Plan Than 1992 1. Coal mined: Altogether 21.481 -1.770 -3.034 198.283 1.343 -21.930 Underground 9.173 -1.433 -1.046 86.719 -1.062 -7.670 Open method 12.307 -338,000 -1.988 111.564 2.406 -14.260 Kuzbass 7.5 -1.317 -1.196 68.985 -1.113 -8.051 Donbass 1.628 -188,000 -101,000 14.502 3,000 -280,000 Pechora Basin 1.741 -117,000 59,000 14.811 -141,000 -1.503 Kansk-Achinsk 2.265 -135,000 -974,000 25.627 387,000 -8.595 Basin 2. Coal mined 4.631 -574,000 -829,000 41.487 -831,000 -6.457 for coking The principal reasons for the decrease in the volume of coal mined: --the decline in effective demand for coal products; --substantial reduction of capacities. It is expected that there will be a reduction of 22 million metric tons in 1993, at a time when provision is being made for the introduction of only 12 million metric tons, that is, a negative balance on the order of 10 million metric tons; --a decrease in the amount of preparatory operations conducted, and as a consequence, lack of the needed number of stoping faces. Stripping and development |
FBIS3-24148_2 | Russo-Estonian `Endless' Conflict Over Pechora Region Discussed | Pechora and many found themselves in a difficult situation. A solution was swiftly suggested "from the other side": in accordance with Estonian law residents of the republic born prior to 1940 (within the old borders that included Pechora Region) as well as their descendants are Estonian citizens and eligible to receive an Estonian passport. A special Pechora branch of the Department of Estonian Citizenship was opened in the border Estonian village of Vyarsk, where residents of the region are issued Estonian passports. According to Vitaliy Kustov around 1,000 Pechora Region residents, both Estonians and Russians, have already obtained them. It is, however, impossible to cite an exact figure since there is no dual citizenship treaty between Russia and Estonia and holders of the passport with three lions prefer not to advertise their foreign document. Estonians in turn also refuse to submit lists of their citizens in Pechora. As reported by Juri Vaidla, chief of "the Department of Citizenship of the Pechora Region of Estonia," to a SEGODNYA correspondent, the lists are so highly classified that even the authorities cannot always gain access to them: "We fear repressions against those people in Pechora, and the lists may be obtained by only one person in Tallinn--the minister of internal affairs of Estonia." The same may be heard from others as well. Citizens receive Estonian passports as a matter of course thanks to the "wise" policy of Pechora authorities which do not allow even those to go abroad whom the Estonians are prepared to admit. Estonian entry visas for some reason are specifically checked by our side (for the Estonians it is sufficient for a passport to show Pechora Region as the birthplace). The latest innovation of the local administration differs little from the previous ones. The Pechora Railway Station, where those wishing to visit their neighbors are required to disembark in accordance with decree No. 48 of the regional administration, has been declared a control zone. Russian NTV television company personnel were not admitted there with the explanation that their Tallinn colleagues had spent two hours in a militia station for attempting to disembark at the railway station with a television camera. "Pechora leadership is aiming to cut itself off from the neighbors with a stone wall"--says a Russian woman from the island of Kolpino, who arrived in Vyarsk for a passport. "We are simply unable to travel to St. Petersburg each |
FBIS3-24153_1 | Voters Seen Making Uninformed Choices | Ten percent of those polled intended to vote in future elections for a party that does not exist in political nature, or, as many as for the Socialist and Communist Parties. A strange triumvirate of political forces appeared in the imagination of the people, which consisted of two existing parties and one mythical party. There was something very symbolic about this because the entire election campaign of the Socialists and Communists has been built on myths and half-truths. The most ludicrous point was that some of the supporters of the illusory party turned out to be closely familiar with its political program, although such a program does not exist. To be sure, such enthusiasts of "order and justice" were not numerous--0.1 percent. However, the fact itself cannot fail to astonish us as it is eloquent testimony to the level of political thinking of a certain proportion of our fellow citizens, whose political dreams are reduced to two notions--"order" and "justice." As was to be expected, populists and demagogues of all hues immediately took advantage of this and began to juggle words in the ring of the political circus which they themselves created. Naturally, the Ukrainian Justice Party has sprung up like a jack-in-the-box; it is headed by former military intelligence officer Mykhaylo Hrechko--this is a profession that teaches one to collect the necessary information and package it properly to one's benefit. So, can surveys and other forms of the study of public opinion be trusted? To what degree do their data correspond to reality? Sociologists themselves find that only 6 to 8 percent of those polled have clearly defined political convictions, and 10-14 percent try to approach the questions asked in a balanced and sensible manner. The remainder are guided solely by transient, superficial emotional feelings and do not even try to penetrate the essence of the issue. But they are in the majority! The results of the elections in Russia are a vivid case in point. So, what is the result? If statistics are a mirror of the condition of society, are they a warped mirror?... Let us not jump to conclusions because surveys, despite their imperfect methodology, bear testimony to citizens' current sentiment. Naturally we should approach surveys with extreme caution, but it is not worthwhile ignoring and neglecting them, either. We know without surveys that at present many people are looking for their daily bread rather than |
FBIS3-24154_8 | Possible Left Victory Seen Positive | discontent. In this case, he has one last hope: The parliament of the new term will cancel the previously announced presidential elections. At present, when the election campaign is merely beginning to "get in gear," the editorial office is receiving a multitude of letters and calls from the localities concerning all kinds of violations and contrivances on the part of the nomenklatura: undisguised sabotage, obstruction of meetings between candidates and the people, delays in processing documents, and so on. The method of "neutralizing" particular democratic candidates by nominating "doubles" is widespread. For example, if a doctor of sciences who is a democrat registers in a district, it is countered with another doctor. If you are a colonel, we will nominate a general. Let the people wrack their brains later. Or else, a complete joke: Rukh is fielding a candidate, a metal worker named Nikolay Nikolayevich Levchenko, and the local bureaucracy hustled and found a worthy rival for him, likewise Nikolay Nikolayevich, and likewise Levchenko, except that he is a milling machine operator. On the ballot, their last names will appear next to each other. If we were to try projecting the overall picture, I think that left-wing forces, the Communists and the Socialists, will dominate the parliament. This is logical in a way. Within a comparatively short period of time our society has travelled the path from euphoria to disappointment and pessimism. Impoverished, undernourished, poorly clad people who have lost faith and are tired of instability are instinctively backing up in order to return to life as it was, though "the boat has already been missed." Since the Communists-Socialists are not up to offering any alternative creative idea, they are doomed to a crushing defeat, just like the national-radicals at present. Paradoxical as it is, it might be better for them to win the election after all, and to form their own government. Two or three years from now it will be possible to ask: "Well, our Communist friends, what has been accomplished?" This will be when they will be forced to retire forever from the political arena. I believe that such a scenario is still better than the current one, whereby anything and everything is being exported from Ukraine, the country is on the brink of disaster, but those responsible are nowhere to be found because one is sick, another stupid, and yet another is just an "acting" official. |
FBIS3-24163_6 | Nuclear Power Moratorium Seen To Inflict Blow on Energy Sector | and electricity production dropped. In the frozen units not only was an enormous amount of capital and past labor paralyzed, but every day they required considerable expenditures to maintain and guard them. Ukraine's sick economy had a shortfall of billions of dollars. All these streamlets of wastefulness and irresponsibility made up the river of present-day inflation and economic collapse. Courage Is the Lot of the Wise The fact that the moratorium accomplished nothing but harm was already clear in the fall of 1991. Even Zaporozhye Oblast, which has three very large power plants, Dneproges [Dnepr Hydroelectric Power Plant], a GRES, and an AES, with a total capacity of more than 10 million kilowatts, had an energy shortage at that time. Two of 18 ovens were in operation at Dneprospetsstal [Dnepr Special Steel] and the aluminum combine ceased production of silicon and thereby shut down dozens of enterprises of Ukraine's electrical and radio engineering industry. Let me remind you that this was 1991. In 1992 the situation got even more complicated. The appeals, verbal and written, of the directors of the industrial enterprises and power stations to the state's leaders did not yield results. The parliament, with stubbornness that should have been put to better use, stood its own. True, some of the deputies understood the mistake, but most did not have enough courage to acknowledge it from the rostrum. But in the lobbies people suggested to the directors of AES's that they appeal to the government. Let it by its decree (since it had the authority) rescind our decision. This shameful haggling continued for a year! And only when the economy, and she is a stern mistress in all respects, finally turned her back on us did the people's chosen ones deign to do anything. What Is Ahead! The moratorium was rescinded, but the problems it created were not. The collective of the Zaporozhye AES is preparing to launch Unit No 6. In fact this will be done in the coming months. As for the reactors at the Rivno and Khmelnitskiy power plants, there are more questions than answers. In actuality, by 1990 the basic construction work in Energodar was complete. The Zaporozhye workers provided No 6 with all the equipment, and despite the moratorium completed installation at their own risk and prevented the unit from collapsing for 3 years. People simply did not want to sink a billion dollars |
FBIS3-24166_1 | Chief Details Work of Financial Guard | on. What benefit could a socialist enterprise gain from evading taxes, for example? [Skvirenko] None. [Bivol] Of course! Let us compare present-day income and the former bonuses and, most importantly, let us consider where they come from and where they used to come from. Both come... from profits. So hiding profit did not make sense before; there would not even have been bonuses. A different type of violation existed, if you remember, account padding. But now? Now everything is different. Profits are concealed, and income too. And they are tens and hundreds of times more sensitive than the former bonuses. That is what gives the actions of our present-day "clients" their logic. [Skvirenko] So you kind of add this quick response unit onto the tax inspection service? [Bivol] And then too, we work on operational monitoring of compliance with customs laws, track contraband... And, of course, we protect consumers' rights--we fight against the illegal practice of overpricing. [Skvirenko] So it is something new, and drastic too. Your first assignment must really stick in your mind. [Bivol] And the first lessons that it taught us? Yes, that is true. But the first assignment was a commercial store. And the first lesson was the awareness of our complete inability to do anything. We requested the documents; there were no documents. We wanted to know whose goods they were; "The goods are my own." And that was it. And no one knew what to do then. We conducted two or three such miserable inspections, and then I went to request that an edict be published on our service. The draft of the edict was prepared, and it was lost somewhere. A second draft was prepared and was sent to the president's secretariat. And there I was given the edict after exactly one week. True, there were strong objections to this document in parliament then, but to be frank, in that particular parliament, I mean in view of its particular make-up, the idea of a financial guard could certainly not find support. And although they could not stop it, certain traces still remain in the document. [Skvirenko] Which ones? [Bivol] Well, for example, instead of a provision on confiscation of illegal goods, there is a vague statement on their detention. But personally I believed and continue to believe that if goods which are not certified with documents and whose legal origin cannot be proven |
FBIS3-24166_11 | Chief Details Work of Financial Guard | grown stronger and defined itself. We have more than 100 operational employees and we are fairly well equipped; every territorial administration has a minimum of two official cars with radio communications, as is proper. We are trying to conduct our tests not simply efficiently but promptly, the moment the transaction occurs. We only have 24 hours, a day, to do all this. So we must work quickly. We come, we look at the documents, if there are any, and if there aren't, we hear the same thing--we have the documents but not here, wait till tomorrow, we'll get them. And so they do, since these days it is no problem to slap together some documents, just give them a few hours. But we do not allow it. We punish them. Promptness, Risk, and Danger [Skvirenko] But just how do you achieve this very factor of promptness? Or is that a trade secret? [Bivol] Of course I will not touch on all the nuances, but those who think that we have any secret agents, moles, or stooges are mistaken. [Skvirenko] And I am ashamed to say that is exactly what I thought. [Bivol] Essentially everything is much simpler and more reliable. When we check on any economic agent, we take into account all his ties, even if they have nothing to do with this particular transaction. That, strictly speaking, is the whole secret. And then there is the matter of equipment. In the evenings we usually get together, exchange information, compare what we already know, and draw conclusions. That is to say, we hand out assignments. And, you know, we rarely miss the mark. [Skvirenko] Yes, it is simply that everything is brilliant. Then it must be that you already have some kind of data bank? [Bivol] Of course. We have information about all economic agents and it is kept on computer. We naturally update, supplement, and correct this information all the time. We are working on creating a data bank on all economic transactions. This job is more complicated than dynamic, but it can only be that way as a result of taking into account not only the "tip of the iceberg," but also getting an idea of the unrecorded capital, the "shadow capital." We have the Jurist computer program and we use it to get answers to any questions regarding particular legislative or reference information in a matter of |
FBIS3-24177_0 | Increase in Accidental Death, Suicide Rates Noted | Language: Lithuanian Article Type:CSO [Article by Ana Trescina: "Trauma and Economic Loss: The Medical Profession is Again Sounding the Alarm, this time over Needless Deaths"] [Text] Many inhabitants of Lithuania die from accidents, poisoning, and trauma. The first and second places in these sad statistics are held by diseases of the circulatory system and cancer, respectively. Doctors are also concerned by the fact that there are many more suicides than homicides. Very many children and teenagers die needlessly (in this age group, accidents are the most common cause of death), as do men (three times more than women), and rural dwellers (1.85 times more than urban dwellers). Medical statistics prove that deaths caused by trauma are increasing every year: In 1988, there were 2665, while in 1992, there were 3344. Medical professionals think that the number of needless deaths is increasing due to the free trade in alcohol, which is often of inferior quality. This assertion is supported by statistical data: The number of accidents and suicides began to increase in 1988. Yesterday members of the medical community, having called a press conference, announced to reporters that they plan to deal with the problems of the prevention of trauma and suicide at the governmental level by creating an interagency trauma control council. It would consist of representatives of the ministries of Health, Social Security, Interior, Transportation, Industry and Commerce, Agriculture, and Construction and Urban Planning. Also planned is a program of public education and training, the reorganization of the delivery of medical services and the work of the traumatology-orthopaedics departments, equipping them with diagnostic and treatment tools, the creation of an effective system for the medical and social rehabilitation of trauma victims as well as a system of suicide prevention. Without a doubt, the new council will come out in favor of a state monopoly on alcohol. We can be sure that the government will take an interest in the creation of the council, for trauma in the workplace causes an annual loss of 250 million litas. |
FBIS3-24189_7 | Smolensk 1993 Socioeconomic Figures Reported | These figures for 1992 were 13.1-fold and 19.8-fold, respectively. In this regard, during the first half-year of 1993, food product prices rose at a galloping rate, while this was the case for nonfood products in the third quarter. Then in the fourth quarter an alternation was seen: in October in favor of food products, in November nonfood products, and in December the rate increases were the same. Changes in the prices of individual food products were also diverse. Compared with December 1992 prices, meat dumplings increased in price 29-fold; vegetables--18-fold; cottage cheese and sausage products, meat and meat products, milk and dairy products--from 11-to 14-fold; butter, cheeses, eggs, bread, and bakery products--from seven- to 10-fold. Fluctuations in the rates of price change for industrial commodities were also observed. Prices increased significantly over the year for medicines (102-fold), operating stock (27-fold), office products, building materials, fuel, and individual commodities for children and adults (from 10- to 14-fold). A more significant rise in prices was observed with respect to paid services provided the populace. This change overall amounted to a 14.8-fold increase for the year (48.2-fold for 1992). This is 2.2 times greater than the growth of prices of nonfood products, and 1.7 times greater than that for food products. In 1993, the stipulated rates for certain notary services increased by a factor of 1,462, for legal consultation--by a factor of 61. Passes for rest and relaxation facilities increased 44-fold, tickets for the theater and museums and the initial visit to the doctor--more than 30-fold. Certain cosmetic and medical services, parental fees for child care, lodging in hotels and dormitories, photography, laundry, dry cleaning, and barber services, repair of footwear, refrigerators, and televisions, rates for electric power and intercity communications, postal rates, subscriber fees for home telephone use and cable radio--all increased in price by factors of six to 20. Wholesale prices of enterprises for industrial production in 1993 increased 9.6-fold as compared with December 1992. The rise in wholesale prices was most significant in the meat and chemical industry, electric power industry, and building materials industry (13- to 14-fold), and in the milk industry (10-fold). Nitrogen fertilizers, water-heating boiler facilities, footwear, meat products, and glass kitchenware increased from 11- to 14-fold in cost, and crushed stone--more than 19-fold. The purchase price index for grain in 1993 was 578 percent, for potatoes--330 percent, vegetables--1,545 percent. The purchase price of livestock and fowl |
FBIS3-24189_17 | Smolensk 1993 Socioeconomic Figures Reported | the textile industry (73.1 percent). A drop was noted in the production of electric power--by 4 percent, major electrical machinery--by 31 percent, light bulbs--by 13 percent, automation tools and devices and their spare parts--by 41 percent, computer equipment--by 39 percent, and mineral fertilizers--by 20 percent. Production of commercial timber fell by 31 percent. Due to the lack of raw timber, output of sawn lumber was reduced 17 percent. Enterprises of the construction industry curtailed their output of building bricks by 7 percent, prefabricated reinforced concrete components--by 20 percent, soft roofing materials--by 39 percent, enameled ceramic tile--by 16 percent. At the same time that production volume in industry diminished, a reduction was seen in the number of employees. This reduction in personnel is proceeding less intensively, however. In 1993 the number of employees decreased by just 5.1 percent. As a result, the drop in labor productivity was more significant--6.9 percent. One reason for this situation is the fact that the number of qualified workers has been retained in hopes that production will improve. There are 10 enterprises in the oblast engaged in conversion. In 1993 the total volume of production at these enterprises decreased 17 percent from the 1992 level, including a 47 percent decrease in military production. The proportion of the total output of these enterprises attributable to civilian production was 56.8 percent, as opposed to 63 percent in 1992. Agriculture. With respect to agriculture, 1993 saw a continuation of the redistribution of lands, their privatization, and the reorganization of kolkhozes and sovkhozes. As a result, at the end of the year the oblast had 312 partnerships and joint-stock companies of the closed variety, 60 collective farms, 31 agricultural cooperatives, 31 sovkhozes, 21 kolkhozes, and two associations of peasant (owner-operated) farms. As of 1 January 1994, there were 3,183 peasant (owner-operated) farms, with 165,800 hectares of land at their disposal. Some 633 peasant (owner-operated) farms were newly established during the year (1,947 in 1992), while more than 300 farms ceased their operation. The gross production output of farms of every category in 1993 amounted to R936.2 million (in 1983 comparable prices). This is R82.3 million (8 percent) less than in 1992. More than half (52 percent) the volume of gross agricultural output was obtained from farms of the populace and peasant (owner-operated) farms. Their share amounted to 42 percent in 1992. For all categories of farms, planted crop production output |
FBIS3-24190_5 | Smolensk Internal Affairs Chief on 1993 Crime Statistics | possibility of earning an honest living. Left to their own devices, having lost their moral guidelines and faith in justice, raised not on respect for the traditions of the older generations and all-human moral principles, but on worship of far from the best examples of Western life, young people often embark upon the path of crime. Around 2,000 crimes of the racketeering type are committed by young people ranging in age from 14 to 18 years old. Among them there are thieves, robbers, rapists and murderers. Statistics show that the "army" of those who have transgressed the criminal law is being replentished not from the ranks of repeat offenders, but at the expense of young people. While recidivist crime has declined by 5.2 percent, crimes committed by minors have increased by one-fourth. Especially daring crimes are often committed in groups. The increase in group crime comprised 24.3 percent. The participants in many criminal groupings are juveniles. An exceptional social danger is posed by the increasing tendency of adults to involve juveniles in criminal activity, by the division of spheres of influence between the groupings, and by the training of physically developed but morally deficient young people who are ready to do anything for money in semi-underground sections and karate, boxing and kick-boxing clubs. One other very complex problem is the struggle against the unlawful distribution of narcotics. The desire to withdraw into the phantom, unreal world of dope is especially inherent to young people. Judging by the official data, the scope of drug distribution is huge. In Russia during 1993 there were 53,169 identified cases of crimes associated with the illegal circulation of drugs, with one out of every 72 of these being discovered in our oblast. The Russian internal affairs agencies have seized around 20 tonnes of narcotic-containing plants from criminals, and here in our oblast--over 300 kilograms! Yet the "profession" of the drug addict is certainly not quiet: Considerable money is required to obtain the drugs. And this money is acquired through theft, robbery and hold-ups... The increased boldness and violent directionality of crimes is expressed also in the fact that criminals are using weapons more often, including firearms. They are showing active resistance to the associates of the militia. According to the data of the MVD [Ministry of Internal Affairs], during the year associates of the Russian militia had to use weapons in suppressing crimes and detaining |
FBIS3-24202_0 | Railways Official on New Tariffs | Language: Russian Article Type:CSO [Article by German Orlovskiy: "The Debt Predicament"] [Text] The Russian Federation Committee on Pricing Policy has established effective 10 March 1994 the maximum index of tariff increases for freight shipments in intra- and interstate transportation in the amount of 1.20 of the tariffs in effect prior to that date. To what degree does the decision of the Russian pricing department affect the railroads and clients of the maritime region? Viktor Yefimovich Lyannykh, deputy chief of the freight and commercial operations section of the Vladivostok Division of the Far Eastern Railroad, provides commentary. "Following the directive of the Committee on Pricing Policy came the order of the Ministry of Railways with a specific deciphering of the financial aspects with our business partners. In particular, it was prescribed that the tariffs for intrastate transportation would be applied to export-freight shipments through Russian border and port stations. "Additional charges will be applied over and above the tariffs and fees (with the exception of export-freight shipments, including to the Baltic countries), consisting of a tax of 20 percent and special 3 percent tax (for financial support to the most important sectors of the national economy). The application of a maximum index of 1.20 to existing payment rates for other operations and services is authorized. But in order to preclude monopolistic pressure from being applied to clients, the ministry has established an upper limit of profitability for operation and services in the amount of 35 percent. "The measures being undertaken by the ministry are not for the sake of enjoyment. The ministry itself is operating at a loss. The Far Eastern Railroad, for example, has entered `minus 6 billion rubles' in the `Profits' column. Losses from transportation operations include rising costs of fuel and electric power, spare parts--now in short supply--for diesel locomotives and freight cars, outlays for worn-out track, cross ties, and switching-signal sections. "And prospects for the future are cloudy. The transportation business is in decline. The enterprises--our clients--are shutting down production output. Our partners of yesterday are turning their attention with ever increasing frequency to motor vehicle transport. Short-run motor vehicle transport has been more convenient, more advantageous, and quicker. Thus, the railroads are facing a struggle for clients who want efficient execution of orders and high-quality service. "In the meantime, a natural process of reduction of our worker contingent has begun. We are not taking action to |
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