July 14, 1997   

This Date's Issues:   1043 •1044  1045 1046

Johnson's Russia List [list two]
#1046
14 July 1997
djohnson@cdi.org

[Note from David Johnson:
1. MSNBC: Steve Harrigan, Marlboro Man rides in Russia.
2. Asia Times: Moscow dismisses proliferation charges.
3. Toronto Sun: Matthew Fisher, The hard chase for 'easy' 
money.
4. Washington Times: James Morrison, Wilson center crisis.
5. THE PRESIDENT'S SATURDAY RADIO ADDRESS TO THE NATION.
(Clinton on NATO expansion).
6. SECRETARY OF STATE'S REMARKS AT VILNIUS UNIVERSITY. (Excerpt).
7. Interfax: Gazprom Is Far From Political Games - Vyakhirev.
8. Asia, Inc.: Sergei Khrushchev, Kalashnikov's Killing Machine.
9. AP: Law Endangers Russia Religious Freedom.
10. RIA Novosti: New Russian passport.
11. Roland Eggleston (RFE/RL): Arms Negotiations Progressing On CFE 
Treaty.
12. Novoye Vremya: Marina Shakina, "The General Is Bored." 
(Lebed).
13. The Sunday Times (UK): Mark Franchetti, Tank girl puts 
fight back in Russian army.]

********

#1
>From CNN
July 13, 1997
Marlboro Man rides into Russia 
>From Correspondent Steve Harrigan 

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Joe Camel may have been forced into an untimely demise in
the United States. But perhaps Boris Camel can take his place. 
Western tobacco companies under assault from regulators and public
opinion back home have found a promised land in Russia, where very little
stands in their way. 
"There is no money in the ministry for an anti-smoking campaign," sais
Galina Tkashenko of the Russian Health Ministry. "Most people in the
government see smoking as just a habit that's not very important." 
According to industry analysts, Western companies have plowed more than
half a billion dollars into Russia, retooling old Soviet factories and
repackaging old Soviet cigarette brands. They also advertise heavily, using
familiar American symbols such as billboards with the Marlboro Man. 
Over the last dozen years, the rise in smoking in Russia has been
dramatic. According to the health ministry, one out of two Russian men
smoked in 1985. Today, two out of three men smoke, in a country where
normal life expectancy for men has fallen to just 58 years. 
The rate of smoking among women has risen even more sharply. About 10
percent of them smoked in 1985, while about 30 percent smoke today. 
Russia has seen a psychological change when it comes to smoking, which,
in Soviet times, was viewed as anti-social behavior. Now, smoking is
accepted as normal, even for children. 
pensioners 
On the streets of Moscow, elderly women pensioners sell packs of
cigarettes to anyone with the cash, no matter how young. Among the child
smokers is 11-year-old Artem. His mother buys him cigarettes. 
"In families, for 13- or 14-year-olds to smoke is now accepted as normal
behavior," says substance abuse expert Oleg Zykov. 

*********

#2
Asia Times
14 July 1997
[for personal use only]
Moscow dismisses proliferation charges

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady Tarasov last week brushed off
accusations that Moscow had allegedly helped some countries implement
programs to create weapons of mass destruction and means of their delivery.
Such accusations were contained in a special United States Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) report prepared for the US Congress and presented
recently in Washington. 
"Russia has strictly fulfilled, and continues to fulfill, its
international obligations on the nonproliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and missiles for their delivery," Tarasov said. "It cooperates
with foreign countries in strict compliance with Russian legislation based
on the recommendations of international export-control regimes." 
He added that Russia's export-control system meets international
standards, and that this has been repeatedly stated by high-ranking
officials, including those from the US. 
On the substance of the accusations made against Moscow, Tarasov
reiterated that cooperation with Iran and India is aimed exclusively at the
development in these countries of nuclear power engineering and of
scientific and technological potential. He said that all supplies to these
countries are closely monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA), and added that Russia does not export nuclear materials or
technologies to Pakistan. 
Tarasov also dismissed assertions that Russia had supplied equipment for
ballistic missiles to Iran and Egypt. He noted that an investigation
conducted by relevant bodies had not revealed any violations by Russian
exporters of national missile technology export-control rules. 
"The appearance of such a report was not a surprise to us," he said.
"Some forces in Washington have recently intensified their attempts not
only to prevent the adaptation of Russian-US relations to the present
realities, but also made the US administration tighten its policy with
regard to Russia." 
To confirm his words, Tarasov cited a White House decision to tighten
export control for the sale of double-purpose commodities to the Ministry
of Atomic Energy, and the nuclear research centres Arzamas-16 and
Chelyabinsk-70. 
To achieve its improper goals, he said, the US is trying to "discredit
Russia's foreign policy and throw in doubt the implementation of our
international obligations". The CIA report, he added, is the next step in
this campaign. 
Tarasov also commented that "it is the lawful right of Iran to develop
its nuclear power industry and it is precisely in this that the Russian
Federation is helping, fully observing all the requirements of nuclear
nonproliferation". 

*********

#3
Date: 14 Jul 97 12:22:33 EDT
From: Matthew Fisher <74511.357@CompuServe.COM>

David,
I don't know if this is of interest to you and your list. It concerns the
other
Soviet bloc diaspora - - - all the hookers that are seeking their fortunes in
the seediest corners of the globe. This column from Macau ran in the
Toronto Sun
today, Monday. The headline was "The Hard Chase for 'Easy' Money."
I return to Russia next week and should have Russian bylined stories again
from
east of the Urals beginning around the end of the month.
Thanks again for including my pieces from Russia in your list.
Best Wishes,
Matthew Fisher

Toronto Sun
14 July 1997
[for personal use only]
The hard chase for 'easy' money
By MATTHEW FISHER
Sun's Columnist at Large
 MACAU -- Aliona stands out from the 50 or so other hookers strutting their
stuff in the tony shopping arcade which runs under the Hotel Lisboa. 
 The busty, elfin-faced 20-year-old is a natural blonde, the only white
woman in a sea of Chinese, Thai and Filipino faces working the early shift
on one of Macau's most notorious tracks. 
  "The other white girls will be out later," Aliona giggles as she leans
against a marble column by a Rolex shop and sips through a straw the first
of three beers she will consume in the next 20 minutes. 
 Aliona doesn't know how many Eastern European women work as prostitutes in
this seedy Portuguese enclave on the Chinese coast near Hong Kong, which
reverts to China in two years. The number fluctuates according to who gets
arrested and/or deported and who is obliged to push on because her 20-day
entry permit has expired. 
 Aliona's face is still pretty in a schoolgirlish way. But she is 6,000 km
away from her home in Kiev, and she is an awful mess. Her eyes have raccoon
circles under them. She has a garish purple sore at one corner of her
mouth. Her arms are rail thin and pocked with needle scars. 
  "Ecstasy, marijuana, cocaine, heroine. I've tried them all. They're
wonderful," she drawls in Ukrainian-accented Russian as she pulls an
American cigarette out of her purse. 
  For all that, or perhaps because of it, Aliona doesn't seem to want for
custom ers even though it's still at least five hours before prime time at
Hotel Lisboa, which starts after midnight. Stuffed into a white T-shirt and
blue jeans, she is the constant centre of attention of bleary-eyed gamblers
spending what they've won from Asia's largest casinos, which occupy four
floors above the shopping arcade. 
  It doesn't get any attention at summit meetings, but along with the
shaky safety of Russia's nuclear arsenal and the sorry state of the Eastern
European economies, one of the scariest and saddest developments since the
Soviet empire collapsed is that with the help of local Mafia human
traffickers, tens of thousands of young women have gone off, often
willingly, in reckless pursuit of the almighty dollar. 
 ROBBED AND MURDERED 
  Some have been murdered. Others have been robbed of all they saved. The
survivors end up with a very strange take on the world. They may also be
stoking what Russian health authorities have fin-ally admitted is a grave
and growing AIDS crisis. 
  Until now North America is an insignificant player in this global
tragedy. But huge numbers of Slavic, Baltic, Hungarian and Romanian women
have been exported to Western Europe, Turkey, Israel, the Gulf states and
Asia. 
  The lucky ones work as "entertainers." The less fortunate, like Aliona,
end up as common streetwalkers. 
 Criminals and communist bureaucrats from Mainland China, who pass in and
out of Macau at will these days, are crazy about white women, as are the
hordes of gamblers who arrive from Hong Kong and Taiwan, a Macanese friend
says. Prostitutes who can speak Russian command the highest premiums
because many Mainland Chinese speak enough Russian to specify what it is
that they want from their former comrades. 
  Aliona giggles again when asked about her apparent popularity. Yes, she
can get US$150 where an Asian woman might only receive $100. But her
expenses are higher, she says. Not only does she have to pay off the police
and the triads, there are big travel bills. 
 Except to say that she had trained as a gymnast and that this had
somehow helped her find work in Asia, Aliona was purposely vague about how
she washed up here. But she was relentlessly cheerful as she talked about
her new life in the exotic Orient and "the boring, awful life" she left
behind in Ukraine. 
  "It's like a circuit. I go from country to country," Aliona said,
rhyming them off like a travel agent. 
  "It's not too difficult to get one-month visas for China, but the money
isn't great. South Korea is better for that but you only get 72 hours. You
can make very good money in Singapore, but they only let you stay there for
a short time, too. I haven't been to Japan, but I know from other girls
that if you go there you don't have any freedom. You have to work in a club
for six months or a year. 
 "The place we all want to get into is Hong Kong. The men from there
don't care how much they spend. But even getting a transit visa for Hong
Kong is just about impossible. Macau is as close as we can get." 

********

#4
Washington Times
14 July 1997
[for personal use only]
Embassy Row
By James Morrison
Wilson center crisis
The Woodrow Wilson Center --home of scholars, statesmen and diplomats --
is fighting for its life after a House committee voted to slash nearly half
its budget.
It is trying to alert supporters with an appeal for help and a new
brochure complete with testimonials from ambassadors and others who have
held Wilson fellowships over the past 30 years.
The testimonials include praise from Secretary of State Madeleine K.
Albright, former Israeli Ambassador Itamar Rabinovich and the late Romanian
Ambassador Mihai Botez.
The House Appropriations Committee, declaring that the center has become
irrelevant, last month cut its budget to $1 million from a requested $5.8
million. For the past two years, the center has received $5.8 million from
Congress and raised about the same amount through private contributions and
subscriptions to its Wilson Quarterly magazine.
"This [budget cut] would effectively close the center," said spokeswoman
Moira Egan.
The center is counting on the Senate to restore the budget request.
"We're not expecting anything to change in the House," Miss Egan said.
"Things look more promising in the Senate."
Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, New York Democrat, is the center's
strongest supporter, she said. He is a former vice chairman of the center
and a former ambassador to the United Nations. Sen. Slade Gorton,
Washington Republican, is also a likely supporter, she said.
The center, which Congress created in 1968 to honor President Woodrow
Wilson, "seems to have lost its public policy function," according to a
House Appropriations Committee report.
The report said a review by the National Academy of Public
Administration found the center is not meeting its primary goal of linking
scholarship and "public policy objectives."
The committee said the center "has operated so long without a clear
mission that it may be impossible to re-establish one within an
organization that has no relevance to real world public policy issues."
Mrs. Albright, who held a fellowship in 1981, called the center a
"living monument" in a town of statues.
Mr. Rabinovich wrote that his 1986 fellowship helped him prepare for his
diplomatic posting here six years later.
"I had come to know Washington and its universe," he wrote.
Mr. Botez, an anti-Communist dissident when he held a Wilson fellowship
in 1976, had been Romania's ambassador here for less than a year when he
died in 1995.
He had written that his commitment to human rights "was born and
nurtured in my Woodrow Wilson Center experience."

******

#5
Excerpt
>From United States Information Agency
TEXT: THE PRESIDENT'S SATURDAY RADIO ADDRESS TO THE NATION 
(Hails "historic week in Europe" in radio address) (1410)

Copenhagen -- "I'm speaking to you from Copenhagen, Denmark, on the
last day of what has been an historic week in Europe," President
Clinton told the American people July 12 in his Saturday Radio Address
to the nation.

"For nearly 50 years," the President said, "the NATO Alliance has kept
America and Western Europe secure in its peace.

"This week," he said, "we made NATO stronger to help keep America and
all of Europe secure and at peace for the next 50 years -- by
preparing NATO to take on new security challenges; reaching out to new
partners like Russia and Ukraine; and inviting in new members,
starting with Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic."

The President also addressed the costs of NATO enlargement, the
changes he will ask the Senate to ratify in the NATO treaty next year
to make possible the taking in of the first three new members in 1999,
U.S. security in the 21st century on both the foreign policy and
domestic policy fronts, rising U.S. prosperity from his own economic
strategy, passed by the Congress and put in place in 1993 during his
first year in office, the balanced budget agreement and tax cuts.

Following is the White House text:

(begin text)
RADIO ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT TO THE NATION
July 12, 1997
US Embassy, Denmark

THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. I'm speaking to you from Copenhagen,
Denmark, on the last day of what has been an historic week in Europe.
For nearly 50 years, the NATO Alliance has kept America and Western
Europe secure in its peace. This week, we made NATO stronger to help
keep America and all of Europe secure and at peace for the next 50
years -- by preparing NATO to take on new security challenges;
reaching out to new partners like Russia and Ukraine; and inviting in
new members, starting with Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.

Enlarging NATO will not be cost-free, but it will cost far less in
lives and money to broaden our Alliance than to fight another war in
Europe. These new members will add to NATO's strength. Membership will
help them lock in democracy and free markets. Their example will
encourage other new democracies in Central Europe to stay on the path
of reform and settle the kinds of disputes that have sparked two world
wars. And enlarging NATO will help to erase the artificial line drawn
by Stalin that has divided Europe for nearly 50 years.

Next year, I will ask the Senate to ratify changes to the NATO treaty
so that we can welcome in the first new members by 1999. This is a
serious step. It requires a full discussion I intend to lead with the
American people. I firmly believe enlarging NATO is in America's
interest. The countries we want to add to NATO are ready to help us
defend freedom because they know the price of losing freedom....

*******

#6
Excerpt
http://www.usia.gov/current/news/latest/97071402.tlt.html?/products/washfile
/newsitem.shtm
>From United States Information Agency
14 July 1997 
TRANSCRIPT: SECRETARY OF STATE'S REMARKS AT VILNIUS UNIVERSITY 
(NATO membership is not "an entitlement," SecState says) (4150)

Vilnius -- "NATO membership is not an entitlement," according to
Secretary of State Albright. "It involves the most profound
obligations that any nation can accept. It means assuming
responsibility for the security of others, just as others assume
responsibility for your security."

Albright laid out U.S. policy on NATO enlargement in remarks to the
students of Vilnius University in Lithuania on July 14.

"I know many of you want to ask me when you might join NATO," Albright
said. "Let me make our position clear. NATO will expand again. And the
standards we will apply to you are the same we apply to every aspiring
nation. A cardinal principle of the new Europe is the right of every
country, large and small, to choose its alliances and associations. No
non-member of NATO will have a veto, and no European democracy will be
excluded because of where it sits on the map."

Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic were invited as new members in
the first round of NATO enlargement at the Madrid Summit July 8-9.

Albright warned against "destructive nationalism" and "cynical,
patronizing" geopolitics. The U.S. goal, she said, "is to create a new
pattern of politics in Europe. We want to ensure that nations can
advance their interests only by cooperating within the community we
are building, and respecting the rules we jointly establish. We want
to close every avenue to the kind of destructive behavior that has
made so much of this century so tragic for you and for so many. In
this way, enlargement will benefit every European nation -- those that
join sooner, later or not at all."

"Together, we will do everything we can to ensure that no new lines
are drawn across this continent -- not between NATO's first new
members and the Baltic states, not between the Baltic states and your
neighbors to the east" including Russia, Albright said.

Following is the State Department transcript:
(begin transcript)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
REMARKS BY SECRETARY MADELEINE K. ALBRIGHT TO STUDENTS AT VILNIUS
UNIVERSITY AND QUESTION AND ANSWER SESSION
July 13, 1997
Vilnius University
Vilnius, Lithuania
.....

Together, we will do everything we can to ensure that no new lines are
drawn across this continent -- not between NATO's first new members
and the Baltic states, not between the Baltic states and your
neighbors to the east. That includes Russia.

We reach out to Russia not to compensate it for enlargement, but
because our cooperation serves our most vital interests and yours. We
acknowledge that we are dealing with a new Russia that is striving to
build a vibrant democracy and that is reaching out to the west even as
NATO takes in new members.

We believe the quest for security in Europe is not a zero-sum game, in
which central Europe must lose if Russia gains, and Russia must lose
if central Europe gains. A democratic Russia that knows the west is
responsive to its legitimate security concerns is more likely to
become the kind of partner we need than a Russia that feels isolated
and rejected.

Yesterday in St. Petersburg, I continued to make the case that no
country will be excluded from NATO because of history or geography.
But we must also continue to make clear that NATO enlargement is not
directed at Russia -- and you must help us. This process is not about
escaping west, it is about gaining the confidence to look to the east
in a spirit of cooperation. The fact is, Russia is changing. You are
changing. Europe is changing. Changing for the better. Changing for
good.

I have spent much of my life studying and teaching about the politics
of Europe, about Sovietology, and about diplomacy on a divided
continent. Nothing gives me greater joy than the knowledge that so
many of the books on my shelves at home are now totally obsolete,
because the old Europe of concrete walls and barbed wire is no more.
......

Q: Secretary Albright, you have just been for two days in St.
Petersburg, talking with Minister Primakov. The Russian mass media and
some politicians have declared that NATO enlargement is the biggest
mistake since the Second World War. Was this officially reflected
somehow in the negotiations?

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: From the very beginning of this discussion we have
known that the Russians have not liked the idea of NATO enlargement.
We have told them that the new NATO is not a threat to the new Russia,
and they have in fact stated and restated that they are unhappy with
NATO enlargement. We have at the same time believed very strongly, as
I have stated in my opening remarks, that it is very important to
bring Russia into the European community, because an isolated Russia,
we believe, is more threatening than a Russia that is part of the new
Europe.

The NATO-Russia Founding Act is a mechanism whereby Russia will be
able to be a part of discussions of common concern in Europe, and
those are when we have discussions, for instance, about peacekeeping
in Bosnia, or when we are going to be talking about new threats to us
all, that is terrorism, or drugs or environmental problems. Those are
the kinds of subjects that will be discussed in this new joint
council. So we have brought Russia into the system in a way not to
have them isolated. But Russia's statements about not liking an
enlarged NATO will never impinge on enlarging NATO, because Russia may
have a voice, but it will never have a veto, and only the countries
which are members of NATO will determine who the new members will be.

********

#7
Gazprom Is Far From Political Games - Vyakhirev
MOSCOW, July 14 (Interfax) - Gazprom does not play political games: it is
occupied with its own business of producing, transporting and selling gas,
Gazprom chairman Rem Vyakhirev told Japanese journalists in Moscow Monday.
He met representatives of five national newspapers controlling 60% of the
newspaper market in Japan. 
"I do not play with these toys. I have too much other work to engage in
political games," he said. Vyakhirev expressed the confidence that Gazprom
will remain a neutral company, abstaining from political intrigues. 
Gazprom will enter the Japanese financial market in the near future, he
said. Vyakhirev called on Japanese investors to acquire the company's
shares. Gazprom's revenues from selling 1.15% of its shares abroad stood at
$400 million last year, he said. 
Gazprom controls approximately one third of the European gas market at
the moment, he said. "I expect the figure will not change in future," he
said. The growing gas supplies from Norway is a temporary process, he said.
"It is neither Norway's victory, nor our defeat. All European gas consumers
will buy from Russia since it possesses the largest gas reserves in the
world," he said. 
The project for constructing a pipeline to China and possibly Korea is
feasible, he said. Gazprom is not participating in the project. However,
"if the offer is made, we will consider all proposals on the project," he
said. 
Gazprom will take part in developing gas fields in China, he said.
Moreover, Gazprom is examining possibilities for working in Iran, he said. 

********

#8
Asia, Inc.
July 14, 1997
[for personal use only]
http://www.asia-inc.com/archive/1997/9707russian.html
Kalashnikov's Killing Machine
By Sergei Khrushchev

Mikhail Kalashnikov has earned a niche in history because he designed the
world's most popular instrument for killing people -- the assault rifle
that bears his name. Kalashnikov is a former Red Army infantryman who
returned from the Second World War dismayed by the unreliable performance
of Soviet-made submachine guns. He set himself the task of designing a
weapon better than the dependable German Schmeisser. He more than succeeded. 

His brainchild, the AK-47, is a byword for lethal efficiency. It has been
used with devastating effect in countless wars. Some African countries have
even incorporated it in their coats of arms in gratitude for its "services"
in helping them win independence. 

Today, General Kalashnikov -- on his 75th birthday, President Boris
Yeltsin promoted him to that rank -- lives on his modest pension in a small
apartment in a provincial town in the Ural Mountains which divide Europe
from Asia. His invention did not make him rich: Money from the gun's sales
flowed into other people's pockets. But Kalashnikov helped lay the
foundations for the Soviet, now Russian, arms export industry. 

I am reminded of Kalashnikov and his achievements because Russian arms
manufacturers are again making an effort to surpass the Americans, and take
first place in the world arms trade. As part of this drive, the Russians
have stepped up weapons exports to Asia. But are Asian nations wise to pin
their security to Russian arms sales? The answer, given present economic
chaos, must be: No. 

Over the years, Moscow's policy on arms sales has seen several shifts. In
the post-war period, Stalin refused to share Soviet weapons secrets with
even his closest East European allies. But that changed with his death in
1953, and the demise of Western colonialism. 

In the time of my father, Nikita Khrushchev, Moscow regarded assistance to
those fighting for independence in Asia, Africa and Latin America to be of
paramount importance. But what use was help without weapons? The new
masters in the Kremlin decided to export Soviet tanks and machine guns. The
first buyers, if you can call them buyers when they didn't pay a single
kopeck, were the nationalist regime of Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt and the
rebels in Yemen fighting the British. This modest flow soon became a mighty
river. Moscow supplied weapons to Indonesia, India, Angola, Somalia, Libya,
Vietnam, Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq. 

After a sharp deterioration in the post-colonial relationship between
Indonesia and the Netherlands in the early 1960s, Moscow not only "loaned"
the Indonesians its submarines complete with crews, but virtually gave them
its newest heavy cruiser, the Ordzhonikidze. That was the ship on which my
father traveled to England on a state visit in 1956. While the ship was
there, a British diver, Commander Buster Crabb, a former navy officer,
tried to learn the secrets of the cruiser's phenomenal speed. His headless
and handless corpse was washed up on a nearby beach. Where and how the
unlucky British spy was mutilated remains a mystery to this day. 

The Soviet arms trade reached its peak in 1987, when Moscow was the
world's leading arms supplier. But, with Gorbachev's perestroika, and
especially after Yeltsin came to power, Moscow couldn't be bothered with
its former allies. The Kremlin abruptly reoriented itself toward the West,
and sacrificed its old friends in Asia and elsewhere in the naive hope of
acquiring new ones. Russian arms sales plummeted. 

Other problems piled up. The budget for Russia's armed forces has been
drastically cut in the last few years. The army, navy and air force have
bought practically nothing from the arms factories. Exports have become the
last hope of a collapsing defense industry. Naturally, it was with their
undeservedly forgotten "Soviet" partners, chiefly India, that Russian arms
producers began to rebuild their former relationships. 

In recent years, almost half of annual Russian sales have been to India.
Russia is updating one-third of India's 338 MIG-21 fighters, which comprise
the nucleus of its air force. The Indian navy is being equipped with eight
of the world's most silent Kilo-class Varshavyanka 877 diesel submarines
(sailors joke that they move through the water more quietly than fish). 

The Russian military also agreed to sell India the still modern T-72C
tank. But the deal has run into trouble because two former Soviet states --
Russia and Ukraine -- are now competing on the world arms market. The
Ukrainians played a trick on Russia by selling Pakistan, India's main
adversary, 320 even more advanced Soviet T-80 tanks. Enraged, the Russians
threatened to stop supplying components for the Ukrainian tanks. In
retaliation, the Ukrainians warned that they would substitute French parts
for the Russian ones, leaving more than 70 Russian factories without work.
This bitter standoff has yet to be resolved. 

The value of Chinese purchases of Russian weapons last year ($728 million)
was sharply higher than in 1995. But again, an unexpected snag has arisen.
Beijing agreed to pay for the weapons by supplying the Russians with pork.
But Russian veterinarians recently barred imports of Chinese pork, claiming
the meat was the cause of a dangerous outbreak of hog plague in Siberia.
The arms industry is not amused. Quite a war has erupted in Moscow between
the military-industrial complex and the Veterinary Inspection Office. 

Meanwhile, Malaysia has acquired a batch of MIG-29s. Vietnam has bought
SU-27 fighter bombers. South Korea has acquired Russian tanks in settlement
of Russian debts (and also paid $170 per ton for scrap Russian warships).
Thailand is also an important Russian customer. 

The export drive by Russian arms makers is helping Moscow regain its lost
primacy: In 1995, it was in second place in the world, after the U.S., in
arms sales. One of Yeltsin's aides, Boris Kuzyk, predicts that next year
Russian arms manufacturers will overtake the U.S. 

Perhaps Russia will regain first place, but can it keep it? The decline in
Russia's economy has left the defense industry in chaos, disrupting the
development and production of new weapons. The debts of defense enterprises
are soaring. There are no funds for fresh projects. Exports cannot rescue
the situation. Barely 5 percent of the cash received from arms sales
reaches producers. So Russian manufacturers are selling old weapons, using
old Soviet designs. 

"New" weapons are not really new at all. For example, the MIG-35, recently
proclaimed as a fighter of the 21st century, was crafted from blueprints
for the super-secret MFE (design 1.42) heavy fighter, which was not
produced because of lack of funds. This kind of thing is going on
everywhere. Sooner or later the old designs will be irrelevant for modern
defense needs. And then the source will dry up. 

A related problem is that armies, navies and air forces require a
dependable source of spare parts. All this makes the purchase of Russian
weapons a risky business, crucially dependent on the success of Moscow's
economic reforms. Here's a question to give sleepless nights to Asia's
defense chiefs: What happens if the reforms fail? 

*********

#9
Law Endangers Russia Religious Freedom
July 14, 1997
By GREG MYRE Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) -- Working a few short paces from an old Russian Orthodox
Church, its golden crosses glittering in the sun, well-scrubbed American
teen-agers pass out invitations to a Sunday morning meeting of the Mormon
church in Moscow.
Fresh from Utah, the young Americans in white shirts and dark ties are
among 500 Mormon missionaries who have helped build a following of 7,000
people across the nation since the church became active in Russia six years
ago.
``For religious groups, things have improved dramatically in the past few
years,'' said Donald Jarvis, head of the Mormon mission in Russia and a
periodic visitor for more than 30 years. ``It's been quite gratifying to
see what we have accomplished.''
But the post-Soviet freedom that has allowed the Mormons and other
religious groups to flourish may be threatened by pending legislation
designed to curb the influx of religious organizations that proselytize in
Russia.
Their growing popularity has alarmed the conservative Russian Orthodox
Church and communists -- who sparred throughout the Soviet era -- and has
driven them into an unlikely partnership.
With the church's backing, the communist-led Parliament last month
overwhelmingly approved legislation that would give the state the power to
revoke the legal status of most religious groups and monitor their services.
President Boris Yeltsin's government has shown no intention of banning
mainstream religious groups. But under the proposed law, which now is
before the president, religious groups would have to work in Russia for 15
years before they could register, own property, set up bank accounts or
perform other basic tasks.
Churches fear they would be vulnerable to corrupt authorities who wanted
to harass them, demand bribes or otherwise make life difficult.
Human rights groups, religious organizations and U.S. congressmen have
written to Yeltsin condemning the legislation as a violation of the 1993
Russian constitution, which says all religions should be treated equally.
At a time when Russia seeks to integrate with the West on many levels,
some critics say the measure is a step backward -- to the Soviet Union's
atheist policies, when religious activities were persecuted and many
believers held their services secretly.
``This law has a discriminatory character and takes us back to the time
of Brezhnev and Khrushchev, when we were harassed by the authorities,''
said Vladimir Murza, who leads the Evangelical churches in the country.
Murza is a minister who was jailed from 1960-63 for his religious
activities, as was his father, who spent 10 years in prison.
Yeltsin has a record of defending religious freedoms, but hasn't said
whether he will veto this law. Even if he rejects the measure, Parliament
has more than enough votes to override a veto.
The Orthodox Church, by far the largest and most influential religious
organization in Russia, says the bill is needed to safeguard against cults.
Alexy II, the head of the church, has specifically cited the Japanese
group Aum Shinri Kyo, which had a sizable presence in Russia, and the
Heaven's Gate cult in the United States, which did not.
But critics say the church's real target is foreign-based Christian
denominations, which are viewed as well-funded and capable of drawing
Russians away from the Orthodox Church.
The bill says the Orthodox Church is an ``inalienable part'' of Russian
history, and it also pledges ``respect'' for Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and
other ``traditional'' religions.
But it makes no mention of other Christian groups, which would be subject
to the strict limits, including the 15-year wait to register.
Since most religious groups were not allowed to register during the
Soviet era, they are only a few years old, legally speaking, and could lose
their accreditation.
``We don't understand the logic of the bill,'' said Murza. ``Missionary
work is as old as the times of Jesus. It was missionaries who brought
Christianity to Russia in the first place.''
Evangelicals have had a presence in Russia for about a century, but were
not permitted to legally register until 1990. Since then, they've gone from
50 congregations nationwide to 800. They now own dozens of churches, which
could theoretically be confiscated under the proposed law.
``Formally, the state could disband us because we don't meet the 15-year
requirement,'' Murza said. But he said the church was sure to survive.
``Our organization is based on the gospel -- it's 2,000 years old.''

**********

#10
The Government Endorses the Sample of the New Passport of
the Citizen of the Russian Federation To Be issued as of October
This Year
Moscow, July 12. (RIA Novosti correspondent). A new
passport of the citizen of the Russian Federation will be
introduced as of October 1 this year. On the decision of the
government all old passports will have been changed by the end
of 2005.
According to the new regulations, the passport will be
issued at the age of 14, and not at the age of 16. During their
life the Russians will have their passports changed twice - at
the age of 20 and 45.
The passport cover will be of a darker colour, instead of
the emblem of the USSR there will be the golden emblem of the
Russian Federation and the words "Russian Federation". There
will be 20 pages in the passport, where the marks will be made
on the owner and his under age children, on the registration of
marriages and divorces, the relationship to the military
service, registration at the place of residence and others.

*********

#11
Europe: Arms Negotiations Progressing On CFE Treaty
By Roland Eggleston

Munich, 14 July 1997 (RFE/RL) - Arms negotiators in Vienna say they are
making progress on amending a basic treaty limiting conventional military
forces in Europe, and that they hope to conclude preliminary negotiations
by the end of this month. 

The Treaty is the so-called CFE (Conventional Forces in Europe) treaty, a
1990 agreement which limits the number of tanks, artillery, armored cars,
battle helicopters and war planes - and their crews - which may be deployed
by NATO and the members of the former Warsaw Pact. The 30 signatories
include the U.S., Russia and Ukraine. The treaty is being re-negotiated to
meet the new conditions since the collapse of Communism. 

The chief U.S. delegate, General Greg Govan, told RFE/RL today that the
negotiators are currently seeking a preliminary agreement, which will set
out the basic elements for adapting the 1990 treaty. 

General Govan said that originally it was planned to achieve this
preliminary agreement by next Friday (July 18), when the current session is
scheduled to adjourn for the Summer. However, some details remain open, and
it has now been agreed to continue the session until the end of this month. 

General Govan said the extension had been agreed by the U.S., Russia and
the other 28 countries in the negotiations. He said the real work cannot
begin until the negotiators reach agreement on the basic elements for
adapting the 1990 treaty. He said Russia has submitted a number of
proposals on changing the rules regarding the deployment of troops and
weapons in various parts of Europe. Other proposals have come from NATO,
Ukraine, Azerbaijan and other countries. 

General Govan said he expected the negotiations on most of these proposals
to be very difficult. He did not expect them to be concluded before the
middle of next year. 

"In many ways it is more complex than the negotiations which led to the
1990 treaty," he said. "That was between two cohesive blocs. Now we have
the interests of the old members of NATO, and also the sometimes separate
interests of the three countries which will be joining NATO in the near
future, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. In NATO, we also have to
take into account the special concerns of Turkey." 

The U.S. negotiator said that, on the other side, Russia had put forward
ideas for adapting the treaty, but that Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Moldova and Kazakhstan also had their own separate ideas. 

"Obviously they don't always match those of Russia," he said. Bulgaria,
Romania and Slovakia also had their own proposals for ensuring military
security. 

********

#12
Novoye Vremya in Russian No. 27, 13 Jul 97 (Signed to press 8
Jul) p 11
[Report by Marina Shakina: "The General Is Bored" under the
general headline: "Star Wars Russian-Style. Eleven Generals That
Shook Russia"]

General Lebed, who flashed on newspaper pages 19 August 1991, in
fact did not come to the White House to defend freedom but to
carry out an order. Occupants of the citadel of Russian democracy
recall that he was somewhat contemptuous of the GKChP [State
Committee for the State of Emergency]/Yeltsin romantic
fuss/struggle. This was the contempt of a paratrooper ("I am the
kind of man who can break down a wall") for the unprofessionalism
of the White House defenders and at the same time for the
helplessness of the GKChP members. And even though Lebed was at
his best in his paratrooper image, and even though he relished it
himself, it so happened that he still lacked something in his
life.
The fact is that it is still not clear what kind of service (or
disservice) the person who wrote the first enthusiastic line about
the general did both him and Russia. Because this line moved the
edifice of Lebed's entire life, causing a landslide, so to speak. The
general lacked applause. And it was not only himself but also people
around him who understood this. Demand met with supply, and Lebed
made all of his subsequent moves under the camera and microphone. 
Whereas in the past all his somber jokes, paradoxical comments, and
aphorisms, unexpected of a military person, were only the property of
his subordinates and some of his bosses, now they have become the
property of the voters. Russian political forces have spent all the
years of political pluralism searching for real leaders, and they
must be given the credit for being able to spot something that
resembles a natural talent. Lebed was appreciated by several
political teams at once. Moreover, he ideally fit the image of an
"iron hand" that would enforce order -- an image that was in great
demand among that part of the population that was not enthusiastic
either over the Communists or the democrats. Within the framework of
his general's image and conduct he projected efficiency. The
stabilization of the situation in the Dniestr region can be
attributed to his ferocity. He used his chances in Chechnya one
hundred percent, putting an end to the war. It seems that today the
general, dismissed from his position of Security Council secretary,
is bored. The rosy period of applause has ended for the time being,
and it suddenly transpired that politics is terrible routine. It
means party organization, which can bore a normal person stiff; it
means monotonous work with documents; it means the arrangement of
ideologies and concepts; it means painstaking work to maintain your
own popularity and polish your image; it means the elaboration of
political tactics and strategy, and therefore the reaching of
compromises and horsetrading with your partners. It is subtle games
with the power establishment. And, most important, all of this
without a break, from day to day, for years, if you want to achieve
success. It is probably no accident that Lebed does not return to
the Duma, even though he does have some chances: By-elections happen
now and then. It is boring. A year has passed since Lebed was
appointed Security Council secretary, and in several months a year
will have passed since he left his post. Today he rarely gives cause
to remember him. By inertia he continues to be regarded as one of
the most likely candidates in the next presidential elections. Yet
some political analysts believe that the following circumstance
should be taken into account: Lebed's party is extremely sluggish
and ineffective in regional elections. Thus far the general's
protection has given nothing to any candidate. His aphorisms and
jokes are beginning to repeat themselves, and he is missing the
opportunity to assert himself -- probably due to his incompetence. 
Where are the comments by the party and its leader on the
government's new course? Where is the indepth assessment of the
political situation? Where are the apt remarks on the state of the
economy? Maybe Lebed is waiting for presidential elections, where
things will once again become interesting and exciting, and where he
will have an opportunity to show himself off in all his glory? Yet,
another four years of such boredom and he will simply be forgotten. 
Because the main thing in politics is to realize your advantage here
and now. 

*********

#13
The Sunday Times (UK)
13 July 1997
[for personal use only]
Tank girl puts fight back in Russian army 
by Mark Franchetti 
Moscow 

DEPRESSED over the eastward expansion of Nato and terrified at the 
prospect of mutinies by underpaid, ill-fed soldiers, Russia's generals 
have recruited a tall blonde model called Dana to help raise morale in 
the ranks. 
Some call her the human Barbie doll. Others compare her to Marilyn 
Monroe. But the generals see in Dana Borisova, 21, a former Playmate, 
much more than a sex symbol. In her miniskirt and clinging top, she 
hosts a military television show designed to restore pride in the 
remnants of the Red Army. 
Desperate measures are called for. Officers' salaries have not been paid 
for months and thousands are moonlighting in other jobs. 
An epidemic of murder, suicide and bullying is deterring young Russians 
from signing up. Borisova is hoping to stop all that. 
"I want all Russian soldiers to love me," she said last week. "I love 
our forces and want young Russian men to join with pride. Too many 
negative things are said of our army. I am here to show its human face 
and to make our boys smile." 
Her programme, Armyeisky Magazin (the Army Shop), is a hit and Borisova 
will soon be given more time on air to pose in army fatigues on top of 
tanks, fire Kalashnikov rifles, visit secret military installations and 
enthuse about life in the forces. 
"I think she is great," said Alexei, a sickly looking recruit. "There 
isn't much to get excited about back in the barracks, but when Dana is 
on you forget yourself. We all have her posters on our walls and can't 
get enough of her. She is a sex symbol." 
Borisova, who has been filmed naked on a tank, sprang to fame after 
modelling in the Russian edition of Playboy on army day. Copies of the 
magazine, which pictured her on the front cover wearing only a striped 
T-shirt sold out within a few hours and are now a collector's item in 
the armed forces. Pictures of her embracing a Kalashnikov with a white 
rose hanging out of the barrel have become a common sight in army 
dormitories. 
"Some old-fashioned generals in the defence ministry fell off their 
chairs, but everyone rushed out to buy copies of Playboy," said 
Borisova. 
"The magazine was circulated to everyone. The old days of Soviet-style 
propaganda are over. We need new modern ways of reaching out to our 
boys." 
Soldiers regularly chase her for her autograph. Last month her programme 
launched a page on the Internet. Pocket calendars with her Playboy 
pictures have also been circulated. "I knew from the first moment I saw 
her that she would become a roaring success," said Alexander Ilyin, 
Borisova's co-host on the programme. "The army is a man's world. We 
needed a woman to attract attention." 
The military needs all the help it can get. Morale is at an all-time 
low. According to humanitarian groups, 5,000 soldiers die every year 
through random violence, suicides, accidents and disease aggravated by 
apalling living conditions. 
Tensions over President Boris Yeltsin's plans to introduce massive cuts 
in funding were heightened two weeks ago when Lev Rokhlin, a retired 
army general, called on the army to resist. 
Rokhlin has teamed up with Igor Rodionov, the defence minister sacked 
last May, to foment protest at the cuts. According to military sources, 
the Kremlin is deeply concerned about the danger of mutinies in the 
army. 
Last week special forces were placed on high alert in some of the 
country's poorest regions. Commanders were instructed to stifle all 
debate on the question of military reform. But Borisova is ready to sing 
its praises. 
"I have to be sexy but I can also see myself taking on a political 
role," she said. "I am lobbying for mothers to be granted permission to 
cook a meal for their sons at the barracks once in a while. I am also 
putting forward plans for better barracks to be built. But first our 
boys must be taught not to fear the Russian army." 
Borisova is not alone in thinking that this can be achieved through sex 
appeal. At this year's Miss Russia competition, for the first time 
contestants paraded in military uniforms as well as the customary 
bikinis and evening dresses. 
In a further attempt to raise spirits, Borisova's programme is 
sponsoring evenings at the casino for troops. "It is wonderful," she 
said. "They have a great time. Some have not been to a casino since the 
days when they were posted in east Berlin." 
The generals can only hope that their gamble on Borisova pays off. 

*********