From: msirbu@next5.cs.umr.edu (Mihai Sirbu)
Subject: RFE/RL Daily Report 02 SEP, 1992 (long)
Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1992 15:23:02 GMT
Organization: University of Missouri-Rolla, Missouri's Technological University

The RFE/RL Daily Report is a digest of lastest developments
in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. It is published
Monday through Friday (except German holidays) by the
RFE/RL Research Institute (a division of Radio Free Europe/
Radio Liberty, Inc.). Copyright 1992 RFE/RL, Inc.


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                    RFE/RL DAILY REPORT

                                       No. 168, September 2, 1992


                 SUCCESSOR STATES TO THE USSR

YELTSIN DENIES RUSSIAN INVOLVEMENT IN SHELLING OF GEORGIAN
TROOPS.  Thirteen Georgian soldiers were killed by missile
fire from a Russian military facility while crossing the
river Gumista north of Sukhumi on 1 September, Western
agencies reported.  The commander of the Georgian troops in
Abkhazia informed Georgian State Council Chairman Eduard
Shevardnadze that Russian troops were responsible for the
attack; Russian President Boris Yeltsin has denied Russian
involvement, according to Interfax. Shevardnadze hinted that
the incident could jeopardize his planned meeting in Moscow
with Yeltsin and Abkhaz and North Caucasian representatives
on 3 September. In an interview with Izvestia, summarized by
Interfax, Shevardnadze claimed to have a concrete peace plan
for the region. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

HAS RUSSIA WRITTEN OFF SHEVARDNADZE?  Two articles in the
Russian press suggest that the Russian leadership may have
resigned itself to Shevardnadze's imminent removal from the
Georgian political scene. Golos (no. 35) claims that a secret
protocol has been signed between Russia and Georgia on the
frontiers between the two states, and that some Russian
circles are now backing Georgian Defense Minister Tengiz
Kitovani, who has links with leading Russian security
officials based in the Transcaucasus Military District.
Rossiiskie vesti (No. 51) cites unnamed members of a Russian
delegation recently in Tbilisi as claiming that Shevardnadze
no longer retains any control over the situation in Abkhazia.
Western press reports similarly suggest that Georgian troops
under Kitovani are acting independently of instructions from
Shevardnadze in Tbilisi. (Liz Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

TENSE SITUATION IN DUSHANBE. The demonstrators who occupied
part of the Presidential Palace in Dushanbe on 31 August and
took several government officials hostage released the
hostages the following day and promptly took some more,
including the mayor of Dushanbe, ITAR-TASS reported on 1
September.  The same day, Shodmon Yusupov, chairman of the
opposition Democratic Party, denied that his organization had
any involvement in the actions of the demonstrators who are
reported to be members of a Dushanbe youth group. They are
demanding the resignation of President Rakhmon Nabiev because
he cannot stop the fighting in southern Tajikistan. According
to the report, a demonstration was in the making in the
square where an anti-government demonstration continued for
two months in the spring.  (Bess Brown, RFE/RL Inc.)

UKRAINE TO GAIN IMF MEMBERSHIP. The International Monetary
Fund will formally accept Ukrainian membership on Thursday,
an RFE/RL correspondent reported on 1 September. The official
ceremony is to occur in Washington where Finance Minister
Grigorii Pyatshenko will sign the relevant documents. This
announcement of imminent membership came after reports that
the IMF was threatening to cut off talks with the nation
because of its failure to produce a coherent reform program.
The Fund was evidently satisfied with subsequent reform plans
announced by Ukrainian First Deputy Prime Minister Valentyn
Symonenko on Monday. (Erik Whitlock, RFE/RL Inc.)

GREEK BUSINESSMAN TO FINANCE PRAVDA. Greek businessman Yannis
Yannikos, who took over a major interest in the former
Communist Party daily Pravda last month, said that he was
going to "repay old debts" by helping save the newspaper from
financial ruin.  In comments that appeared in Pravda on 1
September, Yannikos said the newspaper helped him survive in
jail during Greece's civil war. He said he was sentenced to
die in the 1940s for fighting against Greek fascists, but
attributed his reprieve to a campaign launched by Pravda to
spare the lives of himself and his comrades.  Pravda's
editor-in-chief Gennadii Seleznev said the paper would keep
its editorial independence.  (Vera Tolz, RFE/RL Inc.)

RUBLE CONTINUES TUMBLE.  The ruble fell another 2.6% against
the dollar on the Moscow Interbank Foreign Currency Exchange,
Western and Russian news agencies reported on 1 September.
The dollar now buys 210.5 rubles as compared to the 205
rubles set at last Thursday's market. Central Bank Chairman
Viktor Gerashchenko has called this rate "absolutely
unrealistic," claiming in an interview with Kosomolskaya
Pravda on 1 September that the purchasing power equivalent of
the ruble was between 15-27 rubles to the dollar. Another
central bank official, Deputy Chairman Aleksandr Khandruev
told the news agency RIA that the ruble may in the future be
tied to a one to two month moving average of market exchange
rates, according to Novosti the same day. (Erik Whitlock,
RFE/RL Inc.)

GRACHEV FIGHTS POLITIZATION OF ARMY. Russian Defense Minister
Pavel Grachev has said that those officers who want to be
active in politics should immediately resign from the army,
ITAR-TASS reported on 1 September.  He stated that harsh
actions will be taken against officers who participate in
political protests, and noted that he will de-politicize all
military organizations, such as the Officers' Assemblies. He
added that he will also fight the establishment of unofficial
trade unions in the army.  He denied that he is against
democratization, saying that he is always ready to open a
dialogue with organizations that are concerned about the
military.  He reiterated, however, that he will not tolerate
political activity in the army. (Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL Inc.)

CHIEF COMMAND OF CIS JOINT ARMED FORCES SET UP. The chief
command of the CIS Joint Armed Forces has been formed
according to the agreement reached by the CIS leaders in July
and will from now on coordinate efforts by CIS member states
to ensure collective security, reforms in the armed forces,
and the performance of peace keeping duties, Interfax
reported on 31 August. Meanwhile the Belarus Defense Ministry
has withdrawn its military personnel from Tajikistan, causing
protests from the Tajik leadership, which now faces personnel
shortages that may hamper border control. (Alexander Rahr,
RFE/RL Inc.)

CIS DEFENSE MINISTERS TO MEET. The defense ministers of the
CIS member states are scheduled to meet in Moscow on 3
September to discuss various aspects of collective security,
a joint nuclear strategy, the composition of strategic
forces, communications between the CIS armed forces' chief
command and control bodies, the procedure for transfer of
servicemen to their native countries, and air force
activities over CIS territory, Interfax reported on 1
September.  The defense ministers will also discuss a
"military package," which will be addressed at the
forthcoming CIS summit meeting of heads of state in Bishkek
on September 25. (Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL Inc.)

ARBATOV CLAIMS REAGAN ARMS BUILDUP PROLONGED COLD WAR.
Georgii Arbatov, a long-time Kremlin advisor, has claimed
that the US.  military buildup under President Ronald Reagan
actually prolonged the Cold War. In remarks published on 31
August by UPI, Arbatov is quoted as saying that there had
been a virtual conspiracy during the Cold War between the
Soviet and American military-industrial complexes, with each
indirectly helping the other.  According to Arbatov, the US
buildup under Reagan "helped sustain the perception by our
hardliners of a besieged country." Arbatov, the director of
the USA-Canada Institute added that Japan or Germany were the
more likely victors in the Cold War, rather than the United
States. (Doug Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.)

US, RUSSIA INITIAL PACT ON URANIUM FROM WEAPONS. President
Bush announced on 31 August that the United States and Russia
had initialed an agreement to ensure that the highly enriched
uranium from dismantled nuclear weapons would be used only
for peaceful purposes. UPI reported that the two governments
planned to sign a pact calling for the quick conversion of
uranium from Russian atomic bombs into civilian reactor fuel.
Within the next year, the US Department of Energy will sign a
contract to purchase the weapons materiel from Russia, and
will then dilute the uranium so that it can be used in
commercial reactors.  Russia will use part of the proceeds to
increase the safety of nuclear reactors in the former Soviet
Union. (Doug Clarke, RFE/RL Inc.)

MOSCOW BANKER ACCUSSES CIA OF RECRUITING RUSSIAN BUSINESSMEN.
A young Russian entrepreneur, German Sterligov, has made a
formal complaint concerning CIA activities to the US
Ambassador, Robert Strauss.  Sterlogov alledged that CIA
officers offered him business assistance in the United States
on the condition that his firm provide them commercial
information, according to TASS on 31 August. In his letter to
Strauss, Sterligov wrote that he and his partners, Alexander
Doronin and Malik Saidulaev, began experiencing difficulty
obtaining US visas and conducting their business in the US as
soon as they refused to provide information to the CIA. A
spokesman at the US Embassy in Moscow said that Sterligov's
charges were absolutely groundless, and that all elligible
employees in Sterligov's firm had been granted visas, Reuters
reported on 31 August.  (Victor Yasmann, RFE/RL Inc.)

 .  .  AND MOSCOW NEWS REPORTS ON COMPUTER ESPIONAGE. Several
years ago, the former USSR Aviation Ministry bought Wax computers
from the American firm TEC, according to Moscow News (no.  34).
The computers had been implanted with a time-delayed computer
virus, which had been programmed to disable the computers one
year after installation.  The American plan, writes Moscow News,
was to respond to a call by Moscow for assistance by sending an
intelligence officer disguised as a TEC technician, who would
then be able to obtain all the information that had passed
through the computers during the previous year. The virus was
discovered by Ministry of Security officers.  The publication of
this story in Moscow News seems to be part of a coordinated
campaign to raise the morale and the image of the Russian secret
service.  It may also be a response to Western complaints about
continued Russian espionage abroad. (Victor Yasmann, RFE/RL Inc.)

RUSSIAN-BELARUSIAN DEAL ON FSU DEBT.  Russia has agreed to
assume the portion of the convertible currency debt of the
former Soviet Union attributable to Belarus in return for the
Belarusian share of the FSU assets abroad. This was set out
in a Russian-Belarusian agreement that was published in Minsk
on 31 August, Belinform-TASS reported. The Belarusian share
is estimated at around $3.5 billion out of a total FSU debt
that stood at roughly $74 billion at mid-1992. Spokesmen for
the Russian Federation have repeatedly asserted that Russia
is the only former Soviet republic that services--albeit only
partially--the convertible currency debt of the FSU. (Keith
Bush, RFE/RL Inc.)

ARDZINBA FLOATS IDEA OF PEACEKEEPING FORCE IN ABKHAZIA.
Interfax quotes Abkhaz parliament Chairman Vladislav Ardzinba
as stating that he wants a negotiated solution to the current
conflict and "civilized relations" with Georgia, but that all
Georgian troops must be withdrawn from Abkhaz territory.
Ardzinba did not rule out the subsequent deployment of
peacekeeping troops, possibly under the auspices of the UN or
CSCE.  UN Undersecretary General Vladimir Petrovsky is quoted
by ITAR-TASS as proposing in Moscow on 1 September that the
UN send observers to Abkhazia. Petrovsky expressed the hope
that Georgia would agree to this suggestion. (Liz Fuller,
RFE/RL Inc.)

NAGORNO-KARABAKH CEASEFIRE FAILS TO TAKE EFFECT.  The
agreement on a 60-day ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh reached
in Alma-Ata on 28 August failed to take effect as scheduled
on 1 September.  Interfax quoted the Azerbaijani Defense
Ministry as claiming that Armenian forces had shelled several
Azerbaijani towns and killed 24 refugees near the Lachin
corridor, while the Armenian Foreign Ministry charged that
Azerbaijani troops had launched an offensive along the
Armenian-Azerbaijani border.  Interfax quoted Azerbaijani
President Abulfaz Elchibey as claiming that the ceasefire
agreement applied only to the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and
not to Nagorno-Karabakh, which was "Azerbaijan's internal
affair." Kazakhstan's presidential envoy Gasan Kazhokov, in
Erevan to monitor the ceasefire, declined to comment on the
situation on 1 September, according to ITAR-TASS.  (Liz
Fuller, RFE/RL Inc.)

MOLDOVA FEARS "YUGOSLAV" SCENARIO.  Moldova's ambassador to
Russia, Petru Lucinschi, told a news conference in Moscow on
26 August that Moldova fears "a situation on the Yugoslav
model in which Moldova's eastern area would be cut off" from
the rest of the country, Izvestiia reported. The forces of
the "Dniester republic" are using the pacification process
and the presence of Russia's peacemaking troops in order to
consolidate their gains and strengthen their structures of
state power, Lucinschi said.  Alluding to a possible chain
reaction leading to the unraveling of Moldova, Lucinschi
expressed concern that a "victory for the 'Dniester republic'
could have negative consequences in the [Gagauz-inhabited]
south and other parts of the republic". (Vladimir Socor,
RFE/RL Inc.)

MOLDOVAN LEADERS ON LANGUAGE PROBLEMS. Addressing the people
of Moldova on "Language Day," 31 August (the anniversary of
the 1989 legislation elevating the native language to
official status and reinstituting the Latin script in
Moldova), President Mircea Snegur said that the
implementation of the language laws has been hindered by the
fact that "Moldova exists in an imperial space, which proves
much more difficult to break away from than we could imagine
a few years ago." In another address, Parliament Chairman
Alexandru Mosanu said that the implementation of the language
laws is difficult and uneven owing to "the weakness of state
power at all levels...the continuing dominance of the Russian
language in important social functions...the nonobservance of
the language laws by parts of the Russian-language population
hoping to revert to the linguistic situation of the Soviet
period...and the damage done by the separatist forces on the
left bank of the Dniester and their supporters," Moldovapres
reported on 31 August and 1 September.  (Vladimir Socor,
RFE/RL Inc.)

                   CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE

SIEGE OF GORAZDE ENDS. On 1 September Serbian forces pulled
back 12 miles from the strategic hilltop positions they have
held for four months around the mainly Muslim town. The 2
September Washington Post said that this was in keeping with
a promise Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic made at the
London Conference on 26-28 August.  The paper added that,
after making this gesture, Karadzic now probably hopes to
consolidate his hold on the two-thirds of Bosnia's territory
his followers still control.  But the daily noted that "the
Serb position seems to be unraveling rather than
strengthening, in both military and political terms." Serbs
make up only one-third of Bosnia's population.  (Patrick
Moore, RFE/RL Inc.)

PANIC RESPONDS TO CRITICISM. During an interview on Belgrade
TV on 1 September Milan Panic, prime minister of the rump
Yugoslavia, rejected accusations that he betrayed Serbia's
interests at the London Conference.  He said that the
conference achieved "more than expected" and, more important,
there is now a "more realistic" assessment of blame for the
fighting in Bosnia-Herzegovina." He added "I do not think
that I deviated" from the federal assembly's instructions in
connection with the conference.  Panic also said he and
Serbia's President Slobodan Milosevic have never quarreled,
but "If Mr. Milosevic does not keep his word, which he and I
gave together as representatives of the Yugoslav and Serbian
peoples, I will ask him to submit his resignation." Yugoslavs
must understand that they have two choices, Panic concluded,
"One is peace, international recognition, pride,
international law, consideration, and respect. The other is
tragedy." (Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

DRASKOVIC SUPPORTS PANIC.  Vuk Draskovic and his Serbian
Renewal Movement (SPO), Serbia's largest opposition party,
threw their support behind Panic on 1 September, Radio Serbia
reports.  The SPO is urging the public to rally in large
numbers for Panic at the Federal Assembly when it takes its
vote of confidence on Panic. The SPO terms the call for the
vote by hard-line minority faction in the Socialist Party and
the right-wing Radical Party "a desperate move by the Lord of
War [Milosevic] to get rid of the Advocate of Peace." The SPO
statement predicts the consequences of a possible replacement
of Panic would be foreign military intervention and a civil
war in Serbia.  Politika TV predicted on 1 September that
Panic will survive the vote. (Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

ATTEMPT ON PANIC?  A curious incident on 30 August is being
described by the SPO as an attempt "to physically remove
Panic and a few generals" from the scene. Panic was aboard a
federal navy patrol boat off Budva, Montenegro, when the
vessel began taking on water.  According to a report on
Belgrade's independent radio Studio B on 1 September, the
boat also lost the use of its radio and had no lifeboats
aboard.  The tour of the coast was cut short and the boat
returned to Budva harbor, sinking just minutes after Panic
debarked.  Radio talk shows in Belgrade were inundated with
calls supporting Panic.  (Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL Inc.)

TURKISH PRESIDENT FEARS BALKAN CONFLICT. Turgut Ozal, in a
speech before the Grand National Assembly on 1 September
reported by Reuters, expressed fears that the war in Bosnia
could spread across the Balkans. A Balkan conflagration would
have serious implications for Turkey--also a Balkan
state--both because of the potential for international
conflict that could involve Turkey and because of Turkey's
historic concern for ethnic Turks in the peninsula. Although
he did not specify possible flash points, he no doubt was
thinking of Kosovo, the Sandzak, and Macedonia. Ozal also
called attention to the situation in the Transcaucasus, also
bordered by Turkey, calling this volatile region a "powder
keg." Interethnic conflict has already exploded in several
regions there as well.  Turkish policy currently seeks
improved relations with Armenia, while Abkhazia has asked
Ankara for help against Georgia.  Extreme right-wing Turks
earlier this year called for direct Turkish military
intervention in Azerbaijan.  (Duncan Perry & Liz Fuller,
RFE/RL Inc.)

SLOVAK PARLIAMENT ADOPTS CONSTITUTION.  On 1 September, the
Slovak parliament approved the constitution of the Slovak
Republic.  CSTK reports that in the 150-member parliament 114
deputies voted for the constitution, 16 voted against, 4
abstained, and 16 were not present. A three-fifths majority
was needed to approve the constitution. Shortly before the
vote, ethnic Hungarian deputies walked out. The parliament
approved an amendment to the preamble to the Slovak
Constitution whereby the original wording "We, the citizens
of the Slovak Republic..." was replaced by "We, the Slovak
nation..." Another amendment approved by the deputies
stipulates that the Slovak language should be considered the
"state" language of the republic, rather than the "official"
language.  Parliamentary chairman Gasparovic said that "by
the adoption of this constitution, the Slovak Republic has
become a sovereign state." Czechoslovakia is to split into
two states on 1 January 1993. (Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.)

SLOVAK PREMIER CLASHES WITH HUNGARIAN DEPUTIES. Speaking at
the end of the Slovak National Council's discussion of a
draft Slovak constitution on 1 September, Slovak Prime
Minister Vladimir Meciar accused ethnic Hungarian deputies of
trying to create political instability in Slovakia. CSTK
reports Meciar as saying that amendments to the constitution
proposed by Hungarian deputies were rejected not because they
were proposed by ethnic Hungarians but because they were bad.
Meciar also argued that there was no comparison between the
treatment of ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia and ethnic Slovaks
in Hungary. In Slovakia, "we do not want ethnic Hungarians to
meet the same fate that ethnic Slovaks have met in Hungary,"
said Meciar.  Hungarian deputy Erno Rozsa rejected Meciar's
speech as dictatorial and arrogant. (Jiri Pehe, RFE/RL Inc.)

DUBCEK UPDATE.  A physician at the Prague clinic where
Alexander Dubcek, former chairman of the Czechoslovak Federal
Assembly and leader of the 1968 Prague Spring, was
transported following a car crash, confirmed that his
condition is critical.  Dubcek's spine, pelvis, and several
ribs are broken. In early morning hours of 2 September Dubcek
underwent three hours of surgery on his spine. Describing the
accident, CSTK reports that Dubcek and his driver were
catapulted from the doors of their BMW auto after it broke
through a steel roadside barrier on the highway connecting
Prague and Bratislava and plunged into a ravine. (Jiri Pehe,
RFE/RL Inc.)

LATVIAN LEADERS WANT ALL TROOPS OUT BY 1993. During a joint
meeting on 31 August, members of Latvia's Satversme and
People's Front factions agreed that all Russian troops must
leave Latvia unconditionally by the end of 1993. Regarding
recent unofficial statements by Russian officials that the
troop departure would be completed in 1993, Latvian officials
expressed guarded optimism; some saw these a softening of
Moscow's attitude toward the Baltic States, while others
reacted more cautiously, noting the unofficial nature of the
Russian statements and the fact that the Russian side also
said that it wants to bring up several issues--not
specified--at the next meeting on troop withdrawal issues,
Diena and BNS report.  (Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.).

MAYOROV VISITS LITHUANIA.  On 1 September a group of senior
officers from the Northwest Group of Forces (NWGF, RFE/RL
Inc.), headed by its commander Col.  Gen. Leonid Mayorov,
traveled to Vilnius to meet with the Russian army command in
Lithuania and discuss issues of troop withdrawal, BNS
reports.  A military spokesman in Vilnius refused to comment
on the purpose of the visit. The Lithuanian National Defense
Ministry had not been informed about the visit. (Saulius
Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.)

PREPARATORY TALKS FOR LANDSBERGIS-YELTSIN MEETING.  On 31
August and 1 September a Lithuanian delegation, headed by
Supreme Council deputy chairman Ceslovas Stankevicius, held
talks at the Lithuanian delegation in Moscow with Russian
officials preparing for the 8 September meeting between
Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Supreme Council chairman
Vytautas Landsbergis, Radio Lithuania reports.  Lithuanian
chargi d'affaires in Moscow, Egidijus Bickauskas, was
positive, saying he has not seen such a constructive Russian
approach before.  Drafting of agreements on troop withdrawals
was proceeding very slowly, he said, but he expected the
principal positions to be settled that evening. (Saulius
Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.)

ROMANIAN POLL SHOWS OPPOSITION LEADS. A new public opinion
survey conducted by the independent Institute of Marketing
and Polling again shows the Democratic Convention as likely
to win most seats in the parliamentary elections scheduled
for 27 September, Rompres announced on 2 September. The poll
was taken between 10 and 20 August. It shows the convention
as winning 31.3% of the seats, as against 13.6% for the
National Salvation Front, and 11.6% for the (pro-Iliescu)
Democratic National Salvation Front.  The poll confirms
earlier trends. (Michael Shafir, RFE/RL Inc.).

HUNGARIAN INTERIOR MINISTER IN ROMANIA. According to MTI and
Western media, Interior Minister Peter Boross arrived in
Romania on 1 September for a 24-hour visit at the invitation
of his Romanian counterpart Victor Babiuc. The two ministers
signed agreements on the return of illegal refugees,
cooperation between the interior ministries, and opening new
border crossings.  Discussions also touched on improving
cooperation between the border guards, police, and refugee
organizations of the two countries. (Judith Pataki, RFE/RL
Inc.)

STRIKES WANING IN POLAND.  Strikers at the FSM car parts
factory in Tychy lowered their pay demands after the
management dismissed 400 of the striking workers.  In a
statement issued on 1 September they said they want a minimum
pay guarantee of 75% of the average pay in Polish industry
(about $150) instead of the previous demand of the salary
equivalent of 10% of the market price for the compact FIAT
Cinquecento produced by the FSM.(about $500). The management
said in a statement reported by PAP on 1 September that the
change may lead to new negotiations with the strikers and
could eventually bring about the end of the conflict. In a
related development, Gazeta wyborcza reports on 2 September
that the management of the Silesian Rozbark coal mine is
preparing to send dismissal notices to 301 striking miners;
on 1 September notices were sent to 14 strikers. In the
meantime, PAP reports that Prime Minister Hanna Suchocka has
agreed to meet on 4 September with Solidarity Chairman Marian
Krzaklewski and worker representatives of the Ursus tractor
plant. (Jan de Weydenthal, RFE/RL Inc.).

STRIKE IN THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA. An RFE/RL correspondent
reports that schoolteachers began their first ever national
strike on 1 September in the Republic of Macedonia,
protesting low wages.  In July the parliament passed a wage
package that represented a 141% increase for teachers. As a
result of continuing inflation, however, available funds are
insufficient to meet the new salary levels. The strike is
expected to last a week.  Leaders met with President Kiro
Gligorov in an effort to resolve differences. (Duncan Perry,
RFE/RL Inc.)

NO LATVIAN BANKRUPTCIES .  .  .  YET.  According to Deputy
Minister of Energy and Industry Janis Melkis, Latvian
industry faces a deep crisis. Output during the first half of
1992 dropped 31% as compared with the same period last year
and companies have 11.2% fewer employees on their payrolls
than in 1991. The production slump has created a
2.8-billion-ruble deficit in the state budget. Profits in
January-June 1992 were 8 times those of the same period in
1991, but the rise resulted essentially from price hikes and
inflation.  Latvian industries are still owed 7.5 billion
rubles, 4.2 billion from companies in the CIS. Despite the
critical situation, no company has had to shut down, though
closures and bankruptcies have been expected for some time.
Industrial wages averaged 5,794 rubles in July, and a 28%
wage increase is expected this fall, BNS reports. (Dzintra
Bungs, RFE/RL Inc.)

NEW ROUND OF SUBSIDY CUTS IN ROMANIA. A new round of subsidy
cuts, the second in 1992, went into effect in Romania on 1
September.  Western and local media report that the prices of
many staples have doubled.  Under the new measures, meat
became fully unsubsidized.  The prices for bread, sugar and
cooking oil have all doubled, and electricity prices rose by
62%.  The government has announced cash handouts and raised
minimum wages in the state sector by 15%. (Michael Shafir,
RFE/RL Inc.)

ENERGY PRICE INCREASES IN LITHUANIA. Effective 1 September
the government has raised the price of electricity
fivefold--from 70 kopeks to 3.5 rubles per
kilowatt/hour--Radio Lithuania reports. Gasoline prices have
been raised as well--A-92 from 23 to 35 rubles per liter,
A-76 from 19 to 30 rubles, and diesel from 14 to 25 rubles.
(Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL Inc.)

KOZLODUY PLANT READIES FOR WINTER. On 1 September a three-day
seminar on contingency planning with participation by French
and Finnish experts opened at the Kozloduy nuclear power
plant.  BTA reports that in mid-September a team of the
International Atomic Energy Agency is scheduled to inspect
winter preparations at the problem-ridden facility, which
will use only four of its six reactors during the coming
season. (Kjell Engelbrekt, RFE/RL Inc.)

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Hal Kosiba & Charles Trumbull
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