April 22, 1998  
This Date's Issues: 2160•  2161• 

Johnson's Russia List
#2161
22 April 1998
davidjohnson@erols.com

[Note from David Johnson:
I leave for my two-week stay in Moscow tommorow. I hope to continue the
Russia List and access my e-mail while there. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
Some fluctuation in service is inevitable.
1. Fred Weir's scene-setter for Friday vote.
2. Interfax: Gorbachev: Yeltsin 'Destabilizing Factor for Russia.'
3. AP: Communist: I Won't Back Kiriyenko.
4. Floriana Fossato (RFE/RL): Talks In Final Stages Ahead Of Key Duma 
Vote On Kiriyenko.
5. New York Times: Michael Gordon, Tycoon's Offer to Yeltsin: Drop Reforms, 
Win Votes for Premier.
6. Yuri Luryi: Is El'tsyn legally right?
7. Interfax: Lebed: Moscow Mayor Backs Krasnoyarsk Governor At Yeltsin's 
Request.
8. Moscow Times: Dmitry Zaks, Lebed Set For Hard Race for Governor.
9. Interfax: Report On Situation In Russian Atomic Industry Circulated In
Duma.
10. Fred Weir on the AIDS epidemic.
11. Reuters: Duma Passes Controversial Land Code.
12. Reuters: NATO office in Moscow a must-top general.] 

*********

#1
From: fweir.ncade@rex.iasnet.ru
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 20:35:11 (MSK)
For Hindustan Times
From: Fred Weir in Moscow

Hi, find below scene-setter for Friday's crucial 3rd round
vote in parliament on PM-designate Kiriyenko. Best regards, FW.

MOSCOW (HT April 23) -- Russia hovers on the brink of
political crisis Friday as the Kremlin's candidate for prime
minister faces hostile lawmakers for the third and final time --
with the certainty that President Boris Yeltsin will dissolve
parliament if he is defied again.
"There are many political variables in play, and it looks
like a difficult outcome to predict," says Alexei Chesnakov,
director of the independent Centre for Political Trends.
"Whatever happens, this crisis has already raised the
temperature of Russian politics and started waves that won't
subside for a long time."
Deputies of the 450-seat State Duma, Russia's lower house of
parliament, have twice rejected Sergei Kiriyenko, the 35-year old
political novice whom Mr. Yeltsin appointed as acting prime
minister after firing his entire former cabinet a month ago.
Lawmakers complain that Mr. Kiriyenko is too young and
inexperienced to deal with Russia's massive economic problems,
and lacks the presence to prevail over squabbling political
factions.
Under Russia's Constitution, authored by Mr. Yeltsin after
he destroyed the old legislature in 1993, the President enjoys a
heads-I-win-tails-you-lose advantage in this confrontation with
parliament.
If the Duma turns down his nominee three times, Mr. Yeltsin
must dissolve it and call new elections. The President may then
appoint whomever he wishes as PM and rule the country by decree
until a new parliament has been elected.
The threat of imminent dissolution has led many Duma
deputies, worried about losing their seats and the perks that go
with them, to speak reluctantly about endorsing Mr. Kiriyenko on
Friday. 
"We will have to compromise and most likely will give all
our ballots to Kiriyenko," said ultra-nationalist Vladimir


Zhirinovsky, whose 49 followers voted as a bloc against the
Kremlin's man last week. "They offer us a choice between
tuberculosis and a cold. So we choose the cold."
Most analysts believe Mr. Kiriyenko will be ratified if the
parliamentary vote is held by secret ballot -- an issue to be
decided only minutes before the voting is held Friday -- but say
the outcome is more difficult to predict if the process is open.
"The deputies fear a new election, but they are also very
worried about their image," says Mr. Chesnakov. "Nobody wants to
be seen kowtowing to President Yeltsin."
The powerful Communist Party, the Duma's largest fraction,
appears to be holding firm in its opposition, although some of
its close allies say they feel compelled to support Mr.
Kiriyenko.
The Party's leader, Gennady Zyuganov, has repeatedly said
that defeating Mr. Kiriyenko is a matter of principle, for which
the Communist Party is prepared to risk parliamentary dissolution
and fresh elections.
"We can't allow the president to wipe his feet on the Duma,"
Mr. Zyuganov said. "We view the possibility of early elections
calmly. Our prospects are good."
Much will depend on last minute horse-trading, analysts say.
The Communists want Mr. Yeltsin's assurances that liberal market
reformers such as Boris Nemtsov will be kept out of the new
government, and that at least some Communists will be taken in.
"Everything depends on the Communists," says Mikhail
Dimitriyev, an analyst with the Gorbachev Fund in Moscow.
"The Communists have a serious dilemma. They're divided over
whether to stick with their principles and thus provoke Yeltsin
into disbanding parliament. But if they cave in and do what
Yeltsin wants, they will lose popularity and credibility. It's
hard to guess which way they'll go." 

*******

#2
Gorbachev: Yeltsin 'Destabilizing Factor for Russia' 

MOSCOW, April 18 (Interfax) - Former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev
has said President Boris Yeltsin is "a destabilizing factor for Russia."
"By imposing the candidacy of Sergey Kiriyenko, the president almost
rapes public opinion and the Duma," he told Interfax in a comment on
Yeltsin's nomination of Kiriyenko for prime minister for the third time. 
At the second ballot on his candidacy in the Duma Friday, the prime
minister-designate received less votes in his favor than at the first
ballot on April 10.
"The results of the second ballot on Kiriyenko's candidacy April 17 is
the Duma's protest against humiliation of the parliament," Gorbachev said.
Yeltsin's current actions signify his intention "to carry on with the
policy that led the country into the crisis of 1993 and the war in
Chechnya, and which has been rejected by the majority of Russian citizens,"
he said.
"If parliament deputies, having their arms twisted, agree to give in
to pressure and approve Kiriyenko as prime minister on the third go,
tension in the country will mount," Gorbachev said. 
Asked how long Kiriyenko would remain prime minister if he was
approved, he said: "The president [Yeltsin] parts even with his close and
loyal supporters easily." Kiriyenko can be kept on a short leash and could


be dismissed at any moment, and all responsibility for the failure of the
current policy may be laid at his door, Gorbachev said.
Public opinion polls show that the Communist Party of Russia is
currently supported by 40% of the population for its resistance to the
government's policy "that costs the people o dearly," he said. The
Communist faction in the Duma may stand its ground and risk the dissolution
of the Duma by voting against Kiriyenko for the third time, he said.
Duma Chairman Gennadiy Seleznev, who is a member of the Communist
Party's leadership, seems "to have followed Ivan Rybkin's path and signed
up with the president," hoping that Yeltsin "will remember him" after the
Duma's dissolution, Gorbachev said. Seleznev has said he will vote for
Kiriyenko's approval as prime minister.
Rybkin was the Duma's chairman from 1994 through 1995. He was then
appointed secretary of the Russian Security Council. At present, Rybkin is
an acting deputy prime minister.
I f the Duma is dissolved and new elections are held in three months in
line with the constitution, "a parliament may be elected that will be able
to cut down the president's imperial ambitions, surmount his arbitrary rule
and correct the balance between different branches of power by introducing
corrections to the constitution," Gorbachev said.

*********

#3
Communist: I Won't Back Kiriyenko 
By Vladimir Isachenkov
April 22, 1998

MOSCOW (AP) -- In a defiant challenge at communism's most revered site,
Lenin's tomb, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov declared today he was ready
to risk the dissolution of Russia's parliament in his test of wills with
President Boris Yeltsin. 
Zyuganov leads the largest faction in parliament, which will hold a
third and final vote Friday on Yeltsin's nominee for prime minister, Sergei
Kiriyenko. With the Communists leading the way, parliament has rejected
Kiriyenko twice in the past two weeks, calling him too young and
inexperienced. 
If they vote down Kiriyenko again on Friday, Yeltsin is empowered to
dismiss the lower house, or State Duma, and call elections. 
``I will persuade the Communists to vote against Sergei Kiriyenko,''
Zyganov said in Red Square after laying a wreath at Lenin's Tomb to mark
the 128th anniversary of the birth of the founder of the Soviet Union. 
Yeltsin has rejected calls for a coalition government or other
compromises that could end a month-old political standoff. He plans to meet
with the speakers of both parliament houses on Thursday, the day before the
final vote. But Yeltsin's press service said his stance remains unchanged. 
If the Kiriyenko is rejected, Yeltsin is expected to exercise his
constitutional powers by dissolving the Duma, calling early elections and
appointing Kiriyenko premier. 
The biggest risk for Yeltsin is that the Communists and other opposition
factions would gain more seats in a new election, which would be held this
summer. Many Russians are frustrated with all political parties, and it's
not clear which factions would come out on top. 
However, a growing number of Duma members say they do not want to risk
the breakup of parliament, and have indicated they may vote for Kiriyenko
on Friday. 
To win confirmation, the 35-year-old Kiriyenko needs a simple majority,
or 226 votes in the 450-seat Duma. 


Yegor Stroyev, chairman of the upper house, the Federation Council,
expressed confidence that Thursday's meeting with Yeltsin will lead to a
compromise. 
``You'll see that the Duma will not be dissolved,'' he told the upper
house on Wednesday, the Interfax news agency reported. 
The Communists, who control about a third of the seats in the Duma, will
meet Thursday to formalize their decision. Also opposing Kiriyenko is the
liberal Yabloko faction. 
Two hard-line opposition groups, Popular Power and the Agrarians, have
indicated they will likely support Kiriyenko although they previously voted
against him. Ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky is expected to urge his
faction to change its vote and back Kiriyenko. 
Russia's latest political drama began March 23, when Yeltsin fired the
former government, headed by Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, blaming it
for slow progress in reforms. Yeltsin then tapped Kiriyenko, saying Russia
needed young and energetic leadership. 
********

#4
Russia: Talks In Final Stages Ahead Of Key Duma Vote On Kiriyenko
By Floriana Fossato

Moscow, 22 April 1998 (RFE/RL) -- The agenda of today's session of Russia's
State Duma did not include discussion of the procedure for Friday's vote on
prime minister-designate Sergei Kiriyenko. However, RFE/RL correspondents
in the Duma report that this issue was hotly debated by deputies in the
corridors of the lower house of Russia's Parliament (Federal Assembly). 
As last-hour negotiations between the Kremlin and Duma leaders continue
ahead of the parliamentary vote, a growing number of deputies, including
many Communists, is concerned that an open ballot Friday may mean that the
legislature will vote itself out of a job, while failing to achieve the
goal pursued by some faction leaders: to block - permanently - Kiriyenko's
nomination. 
Acting First Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov yesterday said, "the
prime minister will in any case be confirmed on Friday and the formation of
the government will begin." 
According to Article 111 of the Constitution, if the State Duma refuses
three times to endorse the president's nominee, Yeltsin is empowered to do
three things, in the following order: appoint a Prime Minister, dissolve
the Duma and call early elections. 
Kremlin sources, wishing to remain anonymous, say executive branch and
Constitutional Court lawyers are debating, at the moment, something that
Article 111 does not spell out, namely, how much time Yeltsin has to
dissolve the Duma, following the appointment of a new prime minister. 
The bigger risk for the Kremlin is that the dissolution of the present
Duma is unlikely to produce a more cooperative legislation. However,
according to the Kremlin insiders, if the Duma fails to confirm Kiriyenko
in the third-round vote, Yeltsin is unlikely to ponder for a long time
before dissolving the chamber. The Kremlin press service announced today
that Yeltsin will meet the Chairman of each house of parliament for
last-minute talks tomorrow. 
Federation Council Chairman Yegor Stroyev said that he and Duma Chairman
Gennady Seleznev will try to seek a compromise with Yeltsin to avoid the
costly dissolution of parliament, which no party in the political stand-off
really wants. 
However, the Kremlin press-service repeated today that Yeltsin's support
of Kiriyenko's candidacy "is final and cannot change," as a result of
tomorrow's talks. 


Meanwhile, the Federation Council today hosted Kiriyenko to put
questions to the candidate about his government program, already twice
rejected by the State Duma. 
Several regional leaders, including St. Petersburg city Governor
Vladimir Yakovlev, Kemerovo region Governor Aman Tuleev, and Chelyabinsk
region Governor Petr Sumin have already called on Duma deputies to approve
Kiriyenko. The powerful Moscow Mayor, Yury Luzhkov said Kiriyenko "will be
useful to Russia as prime minister," because he "is intelligent, can listen
to others and find solutions." 
Seleznev has said that the vote on Kiriyenko will take place without a
preliminary debate. According to parliamentary rules, the vote should take
place in a secret ballot. However, the Duma rejected Kiriyenko's candidacy
in an open ballot 17 April. Observers noted that an open ballot made it
more difficult for deputies to vote against the advice of their faction
leaders. 
Most deputies agree that - if the third vote is secret, rather then open
- Kiriyenko will have a better chance of collecting the 226 votes he needs
to be confirmed by the 450-member Duma. 
Communist deputy Vladimir Semago and ultra-nationalist leader Vladimir
Zhirinovsky today proposed that the debate on the voting procedure itself
be debated openly. Zhirinovsky argued for a secret ballot, saying this
could mean that 51 deputies in his Liberal and Democratic Party (LDPR)
faction may vote for Kiriyenko's. Zhirinovsky has said that his faction
would support Kiriyenko, if two or three "professionals" nominated by the
LDPR are appointed to cabinet posts. 
Seleznev has said that Yeltsin might visit the Duma in a conciliatory
gesture, to present Kiriyenko to legislators. The Kremlin press-service has
said Yeltsin has no such plans. Seleznev agreed that Yeltsin's visit has
"not been decided," but said that "discussions will be held on this issue
ahead of the vote." 
Seleznev has been more willing to compromise with the executive branch.
As other members of his faction, he has already announced he will vote for
Kiriyenko. The Communist Party seems to be divided on the issue, and some
clarity is expected as an outcome of the party plenum, scheduled tomorrow. 
Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, appearing during a ceremony on
Red Square, to mark today's 128th anniversary of the birth of the founder
of the Soviet Union, said after laying a wreath on Lenin's Tomb that he
(Zyuganov) will "persuade the Communists to vote against Kiriyenko" at
tomorrow's plenum. 
Zyuganov said yesterday that his party's 134-member Duma faction is "not
afraid" of early elections, and will vote against confirming Kiriyenko.
Zyuganov said new elections "could be useful for the country," since, in
his view, "they would produce a State Duma with 90 percent of new deputies
opposed to the government." 
But other deputies seem to realize that they are facing a no-win
situation, and are likely to change tune and vote for Kiriyenko Friday,
rather than vote themselves out of a job. Duma Deputy Chairman Sergei
Baburin, of the left-leaning Popular Power faction, has accused Zyuganov of
"imitating a fight" over the confirmation of Kiriyenko. And the leader of
the Russia's Regions faction, Oleg Morozov, said, "the Duma will not go for
dissolution, good sense will prevail." He added that "to agree to the
dissolution of the Duma is totally futile from a pragmatic, political and
national-interest point of view." 
However, another influential player, Duma First Deputy Chairman Vladimir
Ryzhkov of the Our Home Is Russia faction said that the Duma "is ready for
dissolution." He said that about half of the deputies are already "packing
their bags" and preparing for new parliamentary elections. But Ryzhkov
added that he hopes the Duma will approve Kiriyenko Friday. 


I t is clear that Kiriyenko's nomination faces opposition from several
fronts and that only Yeltsin is in the position to give a definitive answer
to the demands from Duma leaders and business magnates who are trying to
influence them. One of the most important issues is the line-up of the next
government. Kiriyenko has repeated that he will not use cabinet posts as
bargaining chips in his battle to be confirmed by the State Duma. In his
frequent talks with Duma leaders he has politely listened to requests and
proposals, but, as dismayed Duma deputies say, he has proposed nothing. 
Chairman Seleznev today told the Interfax news agency that he will ask
Yeltsin to instruct Kiriyenko "to put some light on the line-up of the next
government." 
Seleznev also said he will ask Yeltsin to abstain from recommending or
approving the candidacy of former first deputy prime Minister Anatoly
Chubais to the post of Chief executive of state-electricity giant Unified
Energy Systems. Chubais' appointment is widely expected, and observers say
that it would give an important signals that reform of the dilapidated
Russian energy sector will continue. 
Other Duma insiders have said that important lobbies, linked to former
prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin have also expected Kiriyenko to give
guarantees that the new government would not try to increase the pace of
reform of other monopolies, including gas giant Gazprom. 
The question of who will control economic policy, after the formation of
a new cabinet, seems to be extremely important not only for deputies, but
mainly for some of the business tycoons who are influencing Russia's policy
and refuse to correct Russia's strange brand of capitalism, that most
observers call "crony-capitalism." 
Seleznev's words about the line-up of the future government and the fate
of Chubais are reminiscent of similar views expressed by Chernomyrdin in
interviews this week. They are also similar of an article published
yesterday by the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta, one of the media assets
controlled by business tycoon Boris Berezovsky, who has unleashed a strong
media campaign against Kiriyenko. 
Since his ouster 23 March, Chernomyrdin has announced that he intends to
run in the next presidential elections, scheduled for the year 2000.
Berezovsky has said he personally favors Chernomyrdin, as the guarantor of
"stability for existing businesses" and has called on other magnates to
join in with their support. 
Nezavisimaya gazeta argued yesterday that the appointment of Kiriyenko
may be a "Pyrrhic victory" for Yeltsin, if it provokes unnamed "oligarchs"
to become the President's opponents. The newspaper also claimed that events
since Yeltsin sacked Chernomyrdin's government have not realized the
President's hope of obtaining an "apolitical government of technocrats"
that would better manage the economy. The daily also suggested that
parliamentary opposition could be overcame, if Yeltsin would agree to
accept the conditions of "big business," namely, that Boris Nemtsov will
not remain first deputy prime minister and that Anatoly Chubais not be
appointed chief executive of Unified Energy System. 
Several Duma members have suggested to RFE/RL recently that unspecified
"business interests" had influenced some deputies - even with financial
contributions - during the previous votes, resulting in Kiriyenko's
rejections. 

Nezavisimaya Gazeta seemed to substantiate the rumors. It said that
influential businessmen were "behind the most irreconcilable parliamentary
deputies," and added that those legislators could become more flexible, if
the demands concerning the line-up of the government were met. 
Does the president read Berezovsky's Nezavisimaya Gazeta? Probably he
does not need to. Berezovsky claims to be the unpaid advisor to Yeltsin's
administration chief Valentin Yumashev. Yeltsin's daughter and image
advisor, Tatyana Dyachenko, is also said to be close to the tycoon. 
Yeltsin knows very well what are the stakes involved in Friday's Duma
vote. Nobody can say how he will react, but most observers agree that
Yeltsin does not like situations in which he's seen under threat. According
to some media reports last week, Yeltsin has already warned Berezovsky to
limit his intrigues, or leave the country. Berezovsky had denied the
reports, saying that he had a telephone conversation with Yeltsin, but that
the President had only called him to ask "which issues are worrying him."
He said there was not a word said about Kiriyenko. 
Berezovsky is not known for straight talk, when speaking to reporters.
To this day, he still refuses to acknowledge his business interests. But,
he has made clear his opposition to Kiriyenko. 
Now the ball is back in Yeltsin's court. 

********

#5
New York Times
April 22, 1998
[for personal use only]
Tycoon's Offer to Yeltsin: Drop Reforms, Win Votes for Premier
By MICHAEL R. GORDON

MOSCOW -- The shadowy battle over the future of the Russian government has
burst into the open as a struggle that is less about ideology, Boris
Yeltsin's health or even the qualifications of his choice for prime
minister than about who will control economic policy. 

After weeks of bitter infighting, the terms of the battle were laid out
openly Tuesday in a newspaper controlled by one of the country's most
powerful tycoons. The newspaper outlined conditions for a resolution of the
fight over Yeltsin's Cabinet that would undermine the nation's most
prominent market reformers. 

The struggle is largely between a small group of big business owners who
have amassed enormous fortunes as former state enterprises have been sold
off and government aides who have pledged to bring a sense of fair play to
Russia's anything-goes brand of capitalism. 
At the center is Boris Berezovsky, one of Russia's richest, most ruthless
and most flamboyant businessmen, who has done more than anyone to mobilize
the opposition to Yeltsin. 
On Friday, Russia's legislature will hold its third and decisive vote on
whether to ratify Yeltsin's nomination of Sergei N. Kiriyenko as prime
minister. If the nomination is again rejected, as it has been twice,
Yeltsin has said he will dissolve Parliament and hold national elections. 

Most analysts predict that Kiriyenko will finally be approved. What is less
clear is what concessions may have to be made to get the nomination through. 

Berezovksy has unleased a furious media campaign against the 35-year-old
technocrat, who is also come under fire from the Communist Party, which has
its own reasons for opposing the nomination. 



Tuesday, Berezovsky's newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta openly proclaimed that
a knock-down, drag-out fight over the Kiriyenko nomination could be avoided
if only Yeltsin met the tycoons' conditions. 

The price: the abandonment of market reformers who have crossed swords with
Berezovsky by trying to better regulate the sale of state property and put
an end to insider deals. Or as the newspaper put it: Parliament's
resistance could be overcome if Yeltsin simply accepted the conditions of
"big capital." 

The combination of public pressure and behind-the-scenes intrigue has
escalated the stakes for the showdown this Friday over the Kiriyenko
nomination. 

Not only is it commonly believed that Berezovsky is acting on behalf of
some of Russia's other leading financiers, he has also forged some potent
alliances. 
Viktor S. Chernomyrdin, the ousted prime minister, Tuesday echoed
Berezovsky's demands that Anatoly B. Chubais, the Russian free-market
reformer and recently dismissed Kremlin aide, be barred from being named to
the job he now wants -- heading Russia's electricity monopoly. 

Since his abrupt dismissal, Chernomyrdin has announced that he will be a
candidate in the 2000 presidential election -- with the strong support of
Berezovsky. 

Indeed, Berezovsky has been so active that Yeltsin reportedly warned
Berezovsky to limit his intrigues or leave the country, according to
reports in the Russian press. 

So far, Berezovsky seems undeterred. But then the stakes are very high. The
new government team will oversee the sale of state companies. It will try
to put through a new tax system. And it will regulate powerful monopolies,
such as Gazprom, the huge natural gas company and United Energy Systems,
the electricity monopoly and the nation's railroads. 

Millions of dollars in government revenue and potential private fortunes
may ride on each decision. 

A former mathematician, Berezovsky has long been one of the most notorious
figures in Russia. Quick to exploit the rough and tumble world of Russian
capitalism, he made a fortune as a car dealer and media modul. 

He was one Yeltsin's main financial backers during the 1996 presidential
election. Berezovsky capitalized on that support by having himself named
deputy national security adviser. 

He was ousted in a power struggle last year but has maintained a close
working relationship with Tatyana Dyachenko, Yelstin's daughter and trusted
political adviser. 

Berezovsky boasted that he is one of a handful of financiers who controls
much of the Russian economy and openly proclaimed that the Russian
government should be a servant of big business. 
That put him on a collision course with Chubais and Boris Nemtsov, the
senior Kremlin aide who asserted their goal was to break the grip that the
"crony capitalists" had on the Russian economy. 

The dispute over the control of economic policy came to a head earlier this
year when the Russian government began to arrange the auction of the state
oil company, Rosneft. 

For months, Berezovsky lobbied furiously to shape the conditions to his
advantage -- and lost. The official who drafted the terms was none other
than Kiriyenko, who was then the deputy energy minister. 



That did nothing to endear Kiriyenko to Berezovsky. When it became clear
that Yeltsin was determined to fire Chernomyrdin, Kiriyenko was decidedly
not on Berezovsky's short list of recommended replacements. 

And Nezavisimaya Gazeta has been railing against the Kiriyenko nomination
since Yeltsin's government shakeup. 

The newspaper also suggested Tuesday that powerful financiers have been
"behind the most irreconcilable parliamentary deputies," hinting that these
deputies could become more accommodating to the Kremlin if the tycoons'
demands were met. 

Berezovsky's critics say his initial goal was to block the Kiriyenko
nomination so that Yeltsin would be compelled to nominate a more pliant
candidate, such as Ivan Rybkin, a deputy prime minister who Berezovksy has
publicly extolled. 

For their part, Kiriyenko's supporters have tried to counter Berezovsky by
launching their own media campaign, portraying him as a Svengali, who is
trying to subvert the system. 

And Berezovsky is not the only one making demands. The Communists and
leading members of Chernomyrdin's party have both been demanding the
removal or demotion of Nemtsov, who currently has considerable
responsibility for economic policy, including the regulation of the energy
industry and monopolies, according to government aides. 

That would create an opening for their own candidates. 

"If will be better if people who share our views will be at the noticable
positions in the government," said Alexander Shokhin, a parliamentary
leader of Chernomyrdin's party, Our Home is Russia. 

Both factions also seem determined to block Chubais from being named
chairman of the electrical monopoly. 
Yeltsin, however, has some strong cards to play in the battle to win
approval of the Kiriyenko nomination and to keep Nemtsov in his government. 

Most deputies are fearful of the early parliamentary elections, which would
come about if they rejected Kiriyenko for a third time. And Kiriyenko has
drawn support from Mayor Yuri Luzhkov of Moscow, one of Russia's most
ambitious politicians and an adversary of Berezovsky. 

But the new few days will provide a final opportunity for horsetrading and
maneuvering. 

Vladimir Ryzhkov, the first deputy speaker of the Parliament, said there
would be intensive discussions over the procedures for Friday's session. 

He added that Kiriyenko had a good chance of winning approval if the
deputies opted for a secret ballot, thus shielding them from pressure to
stick to their party's line. 

"I think on Friday everything will be decided before lunch," he said. 

*********

#6
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 14:16:52 -0400 (EDT)
From: Yuri Luryi <yluryi@julian.uwo.ca>
Subject: Is El'tsyn legally right?

Being consulted recently about legal problems of the skirmish between
El'tsyn and the Duma, I've re-read relevant articles of the Russian
Constitution.
Here is what, in my opinion, can happen, if El'tsyn will present the
candidature
of the same Kiryenko the third time, and it will be the third time declined:
1. In accordance with the article 109, the Duma MAY BE dissolved in cases
provided for in the articles 111 and 117 of the Constitution;


2. In accordance with the article 111, section 4, after the third declining
the
presented candidature, the President appoints Prime Minister, dissolves the
Duma
and institutes new elections. The wording of this law does not give the Pre-
sident any other option. There isn't any "may", "can" or "might". "The
president dissolves..." - is the wording
3. However, it may turn out later that the President acted against the law,
when he presented the Duma three times the same candidature of the same
person. It is not incidental that the first words of mentioned section 4 of
Art. 111 are
"Posle trexkratnogo otkloneniia predstavlennyx kandidatuR
(plural!-Y.L.)..." ("After thrice-repeated declining of presented
candidatureS"). Did El'tsyn present three candidatureS? I don't think so.
He presents three time the same Kiryenko, which is only one candidature.
Obviously, the gist of that article is to stimulate a compromise, rather
than to
help stubborn president by allowing him to present ONE candidaturE instead
of three DIFFERENT candidatureS.
And one should not be surprised, if 4-6 months later the Constitutional
Court finds that three Kiriyenkos are not three candidatures and declares
that the dissolving of Duma WAS WRONG. What then? It is an interesting
subject for guessing.
Yuri Luryi.

********

#7
Lebed: Moscow Mayor Backs Krasnoyarsk Governor At Yeltsin's Request 

KRASNOYARSK, April 22 (Interfax) - Russia's ex-security chief Alexander
Lebed who is running for the post of governor of Krasnoyarsk territory,
told Interfax Wednesday that Moscow Mayor *Yuri Luzhkov* had arrived in
Krasnoyarsk to support current governor Valery Zubov at President Yeltsin's
personal request. 

"The federal authorities need an obedient governor who would turn
Krasnoyarsk territory into a "milch cow". Moscow needs Zubov because he
will not defend the interests of his territory," Lebed said. 

"Luzhkov also has another goal. According to my sources, Luzhkov and Zubov
had reached an agreement under which part of the posts in the territorial
administration, if Zubov wins, will be given to Luzhkov's people," he said. 

"It's an open secret that Luzhkov is a candidate to the presidential office
in the 2000 presidential elections and needs his man in the Krasnoyarsk
territory which makes up 14% of Russia's entire territory," Lebed continued. 

In his opinion, Luzhkov fears lest Lebed, if he wins the gubernatorial
elections, might protest in the Federation Council against the situation
whereby regional enterprises have the right to pay taxes in the place where
their head offices are located, not in the place where these enterprises
are based. "Most of the regional enterprises' head offices are registered
in Moscow, which explains why 84% of the Russian capital is concentrated in
Moscow," Lebed said. 
He said regarding Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov's arrival in
Krasnoyarsk to support Communist candidate Pyotr Romanov that "Zyuganov may
support whoever he likes. But this will not influence the alignment of
forces in Krasnoyarsk territory." 

He said he was pleased with his election campaign. "The election struggle
is proceeding correctly, but for individual attacks made by the Zubov
staff," he said. 



"I'm convinced that Duma will not be dismissed," Lebed said. "Zyuganov has
gotten bogged down in haggling and will not allow the Duma to be
dismissed," he said. 

He said that the only serious condition for his participation in the 2000
presidential elections is a prosperous Krasnoyarsk territory. "I don't know
how much time I will need to accomplish this task," he said. 
He confirmed that the famous French actor Alain Delon will arrive in
Krasnoyarsk territory on Thursday. "This is not going to be part of the
election campaign. Simply, my friend has cut out some time in his schedule
to congratulate me on my birthday," Lebed said. 

*********

#8
Moscow Times
April 22, 1998 
Lebed Set For Hard Race for Governor 
By Dmitry Zaks
STAFF WRITER

KRASNOYARSK, Western Siberia -- Faded movie stars, cultural luminaries 
and big-hitting politicians from Moscow are descending upon this 
blue-collar city to play their part in a weekend poll that, one way or 
another, could decide who becomes Russia's next president. 

On Sunday, the people of the huge Krasnoyarsk region, traditionally a 
bellwether of Russia's political mood, will decide whether to elect 
presidential hopeful Alexander Lebed as their governor. 

If he loses, his political career is over. If he wins, control of this 
mineral-rich region, which stretches from the Arctic in the north almost 
to the Mongolian border in the south, will give the 48-year-old former 
paratrooper a fearsome springboard for his run at the presidency in 
2000. 

With so much at stake, Moscow politicians and show-business stars have 
booked flights to Siberia in recent days to join in the battle for the 
hearts and minds of the voters here. 

One man, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov, is making no bones about why he is 
spending part of this week beating the campaign trail with Valery Zubov, 
the incumbent governor and Lebed's chief rival, in the region's south. 

"Lebed is dangerous for Russia, this is the most important thing," 
Luzhkov said on the eve of boarding a flight to Krasnoyarsk. "He needs a 
springboard for the presidency. But Lebed as president is frightening." 

Although he denies this, most people here speculate that Luzhkov only 
wants to stop Lebed in Krasnoyarsk so that he himself can grab the tough 
nationalists' vote once he inevitably launches his own presidential 
campaign. 

Just to be sure, Luzhkov is not coming empty-handed -- he is organizing 
a small artists' contingent, featuring crooner and Duma Deputy Iosef 
Kobzon to sing in support of Zubov later this week. 

Lebed, for his part, is keeping up with the celebrity challenge. Lebed 
celebrated his 48th birthday Monday, inviting prominent Moscow guests. 
Galina Kozhukhova, a movie director, read odes of praise to the former 
Afghan general to a hall full of students and curious onlookers. 

He promises to go one better Wednesday, bringing aging French heartthrob 
Alain Delon all the way from Paris. Perhaps the only Western action hero 
given open play in Soviet movie theaters, the former "Zorro" star is so 
big in Russia that one pop band last year actually named a song after 
him. 



Lebed's aides say they will make the final call on Delon early 
Wednesday. The two made friends on Lebed's trip to Paris last year. 

Rumors of Delon's imminent arrival have electrified Krasnoyarsk, a 
blue-collar town surrounded by rolling hills still thawing from the 
winter freeze and split in half by the brooding Yenisei river, which 
spills into the Arctic. 

The debate over whether Delon will come or not has turned into the top 
item on the local evening news, eclipsing Communist Party boss Gennady 
Zyuganov, who flew into Krasnoyarsk on Monday clutching a bouquet of 
roses and pledging support for the Communist candidate, Pyotr Romanov. 

Lebed's younger brother, Alexei, was a fellow paratrooper before being 
voted in as governor of the Republic of Khakassia, to the south of 
Krasnoyarsk region. A win for Alexander Lebed would make it all but 
impossible to cross Siberia without passing through territory controlled 
by the Lebed clan. 
Away from the film stars and the glitz, it is Romanov who has now become 
the focus of Lebed's campaign. Pollsters give the Communist challenger, 
the son of a prisoner who grew up to run a Soviet chemical defense plant 
that has since been shut down, little chance of becoming governor. 
However, he is a danger to Lebed, because he threatens to split the 
anti-Zubov vote. 

If no candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote Sunday, the 
contest will go to a run-off. 

Lebed seems to sense this, so he is taking his message of revenge 

against bureaucratic sloth and incompetence to some of the most 
depressed workers in Russia. 

Marina Voronova, 53, a worker at the Sibnits textile plant for the last 
30 years and who is still waiting on her $55 wage from last month, beams 
a delighted golden-tooth grin as she listens to the former paratroop 
general tell how he will crack down on her factory director if ever 
elected governor of Krasnoyarsk. 

"He's a scoundrel who's out drinking even as we speak," Voronova 

said of her boss, waving a furious fist at the tightly packed crowd of 
fellow workers, who were taking a break from their chores to hear Lebed 
speak. 

Lebed does his best to play to the anger of workers at the factory, a 
creaking little plant chugging out green smoke on the right bank of the 
Yenisei river. 

"Grandmothers and grandfathers have become our families' main 
breadwinners, because at least they now get their pensions paid," he 
said, his feet planted firmly at shoulders' breadth for the entire 
90-minute back-and-forth with the crowd. "This is not a life. It's an 
existence," he almost whispered, as blue apron-clad women in the back 
rows arched closer to get a better look. 

*********

#9
Report On Situation In Russian Atomic Industry Circulated In Duma 

MOSCOW, April 22 (Interfax) - Chairman of the Russian Duma's Security
Committee *Viktor Ilyukhin* on Wednesday circulated a report drawn in the
wake of an article entitled "Uraniumgate," published by the newspaper
Kommersant-Daily on March 12. 

Ilyukhin writes that an analysis of the situation in the Russian atomic
industry and nuclear energy sector suggests that the availability of a
large amount of high-enriched uranium as a result of disarmament makes its
processing into low-enriched uranium and subsequent sale on the world
market economically expedient for Russia. 



With this end in view, in February 1993 the Russian government signed an
agreement with the United States on the processing of 500 tonnes of
high-enriched uranium, removed from nuclear weapons, into low- enriched
uranium to be used as fuel on nuclear power plants. Thus Russia gained $431
million in 1995 and 1996, and $261 million in 1997, Ilyukhin writes. 

At the same time, in 1996, following the privatization of the USEC (the
U.S. enrichment corporation and the American agent under the contract) "the
terms of the agreement and contract considerably changed," the report says.
In 1997 the USEC began to pay Russia exclusively for the enrichment of
uranium (about two thirds of the cost of low-enriched uranium) and
compensate for the cost of natural uranium by passing to it the same amount
of raw uranium in U.S. territory. 

Presently, Russia owns about 10,000 tonnes of raw uranium in the United
States, estimated at $4 billion, the document reads. 

"Russia's possibilities in using the natural uranium in the United States
independently are limited by the absence of the right to return the
material to Russia (in accordance with the U.S. laws). Given this, the
Russian Ministry for Atomic Energy "has several ways of using its raw
uranium stored at the USEC enterprises," Ilyukhin writes, noting that these
possibilities have both positive and negative aspects. 

Corresponding inquiries have been sent to the Russian government, the
Foreign Intelligence Service and the Federal Security Service, he writes.
He also thinks that the Duma should instruct the Audit Chamber to check
whether the Minister for Atomic Energy has fully returned the receipts for
the raw component of the low-enriched uranium supplied to the United States. 

********

#10
From: fweir.ncade@rex.iasnet.ru
Date: Wed, 22 Apr 1998 14:04:30 (MSK)
For the Hindustan Times
From: Fred Weir in Moscow

MOSCOW (HT April 22) -- The former Soviet Union and Eastern
Europe are fast becoming the new epicentre of the global AIDS
epidemic thanks to runaway drug abuse, unsafe sex habits and the
breakdown of public health institutions, a United Nations report
warns.
"AIDS is exploding in Russia, and there are almost no
resources to mount a proper response," Russian deputy health
minister Gennady Onishenko told a press conference in Moscow
Wednesday.
In today's world five young people aged between 10 and 24
are infected every minute with the HIV virus, which causes AIDS.
That translates into 2.6-million new cases of the killer
syndrome each year, the report says.
The study was prepared by a joint task force of five United
Nations agencies, and was released in Moscow to dramatize the
scope of the threat facing the former Soviet bloc.
Across much of Eastern Europe the AIDS epidemic is
increasing exponentially, driven mainly by an upsurge in
intravenous drug abuse. In Russia new HIV infections tripled in
1996, and then tripled again in 1997. 
"The epidemic clearly follows the path of drug smuggling
from Asia, across Russia and into Eastern Europe," said Mr.
Onishenko. "The main areas of explosive growth in AIDS are also


areas of swift growth in drug availability and abuse."
Unprotected sex in a region where there is little public
discussion of venereal disease and few young people choose to use
condoms, is the second major factor behind the expanding AIDS
crisis, the report says.
"In Russia, where injecting drug use and unsafe sex are
fueling the HIV/AIDS epidemic, it is time for young people to
engage in HIV/AIDS prevention efforts and make their voices
heard," said Gianni Murzi, Moscow representative of UNICEF, the
United Nations' children's fund.
"They have the right and responsibility to change the course
of the epidemic and the support of adults is crucial to make it
happen."
While many Western countries have managed to slow the growth
in fresh HIV infections, the epidemic is snowballing in Third
World and post-Soviet countries in part due to the lack of public
health resources to deal with it.
"We spend almost our entire budget testing risk groups for
HIV infection every year, and there is nothing left over for
scientific research or public education campaigning," said Mr.
Onishenko. 
"It's like trying to fight an invading army without weapons
or defensive walls." 

**********

#11
Duma Passes Controversial Land Code 
April 22, 1998

MOSCOW -- (Reuters) The Duma on Wednesday approved a new land code
criticized by President Boris Yeltsin for failing to allow the free sale of
land. 

Yeltsin's representative in the Duma said the revised version failed to
take into account the president's objections, making clear there was little
chance the president would sign it into law in its current form. 

Yeltsin vetoed the initial version of the land code last year, saying it
did not allow free sale of land, which he regards as a major political goal
and a necessary condition to kick-start reforms in the agricultural sector. 

The Duma later overcame Yeltsin's veto but in a compromise step the Kremlin
and parliament agreed to set up a joint group to rework the document. But
Aleksander Kotenkov, Yeltsin's representative in the Duma, said on
Wednesday the revised version of the code still blocked the free sale of
land. 

The Duma passed the code with 263 votes for, three against and three
abstentions. But Kotenkov demanded a tag "including presidential
amendments" be removed from the document, which would give Yeltsin a right
to send the code back to the Duma and force it to start four readings of
the document from the scratch. 

"The new version makes virtually all deals for the sale of land illegal,"
Kotenkov said.

*********

#12
INTERVIEW-NATO office in Moscow a must-top general
By Martin Nesirky 

MOSCOW, April 21 (Reuters) - NATO's top general said on Tuesday the alliance's
liaison office in Moscow should be as close as possible to Russia's Defence
Ministry to help further dialogue, although there were clear sensitivities on
both sides. 

In an interview, U.S. General Wesley Clark also said he had specific ideas to
put to Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev on how to deepen ties, but it could take
years to overcome Kremlin misgivings about NATO moves to embrace East European
countries. 



``When you are dealing with historical experiences and the long-run tendencies
of nations, a few words of dialogue at the outset are essential but not
sufficient,'' said Clark, the Supreme Allied Commander for Europe. 

``It is going to take...transparency over a period of months and years to work
through these issues,'' Clark said. 

On Wednesday, Clark meets Marshal Sergeyev, who turned 60 on Monday, and later
holds a news conference before leaving Moscow. 

He said the question of where to place the 16-nation North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation's liaison office was an important next step in strengthening
dialogue with Moscow. The Russians say the mission cannot be located in their
ministry building. 

Asked whether the office should be in the ministry, Clark said: ``Well, I
think that of course we should be as close as possible. But there are
practical considerations that operate on both parties in something like this
and they have to be understood and respected.'' 

He said NATO's military committee, recently given the job of negotiating with
Moscow on its liaison office, would work out the specifics with the Russians. 

``I think it is going to be resolved in the dialogue and discussions,'' said
the four-star general, in Moscow for talks with the Russian military and for a
NATO-Russia conference on the lessons to be learned from the SFOR
Stabilisation Force in Bosnia that includes Russian units. 

Clark said the conference was a good example of practical cooperation between
NATO and Russia. 

``All of our nations are in there together -- we are doing the operations
together and we are sharing the risks of those operations,'' he said. 

The general, who took over command of U.S. forces in Europe and the top NATO
military post last July, helped broker the 1995 Dayton peace accord on former
Yugoslavia. 

He said plans were already well in hand for the switch from SFOR to a follow-
on force after the June deadline for the Stabilisation Force's mandate
expires. 

``I think we are in reasonably good shape for the post-June forces,'' he said.
``You'll see a great deal of continuity in forces and in tasks and missions.''

Asked if policing would be part of the new role, he said this was not a job
for a multi-national force. 

``I want to underscore emphatically that policing is the responsibility of the
local police forces. That's their job,'' he said. ``They are in the process of
being restructured and retrained to do this job.'' 

*********