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Subject:      RFE/RL Daily Report 08 JAN, 1993

The RFE/RL Daily Report is a digest of the latest developments
in Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia, and Central 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 1993 RFE/RL,
Inc.


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                RFE/RL Daily Report

                                    No. 4, 8 January 1993

                           Russia

FILATOV APPOINTED YELTSIN'S CHIEF OF STAFF. First Deputy
Chairman of the Russian Supreme Soviet Sergei Filatov
confirmed on 7 January that he had been appointed chief of
staff to President Boris Yeltsin, ITAR-TASS reported.
Filatov, a proponent of fundamental democratic reforms, said
that Yeltsin wants to "reinforce his circle with democrats."
Filatov replaces Yurii Petrov, who has reportedly been
criticized for his "insufficiently decisive position" during
the December 1992 session of the Congress of People's
Deputies, and for his allegedly conservative influence on the
president. Keith Bush/Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL, Inc.

KOZYREV ON RAPID DEPLOYMENT FORCES. Defending nuclear
disarmament in a recent interview, Russian Foreign Minister
Andrei Kozyrev said that "the real challenge to our security
today lies in regional conflicts." He argued that nuclear
weapons were of "absolutely no importance whatsoever" for
conflicts such as those in Tajikistan, South Ossetia,
Abkhazia, or Moldova. He said Russia should direct its
"efforts, attention, resources" to equip rapid deployment
forces for use in regional conflicts and peacekeeping. The
interview appeared on Russian TV's "Utro" program, 6 January
1993.  Suzanne Crow, RFE/RL, Inc.

SWEDEN AS EXAMPLE. In the same interview, Kozyrev said that
he had recently discussed his ideas on rapid deployment
forces while on a visit to Sweden. Sweden, Kozyrev said, is a
superpower in its own right with decades of experience in
training troops, equipping them, and providing language
instruction for involvement in U.N. operations to keep the
peace. Kozyrev continued: "That is what we need. This is
where we should have become a superpower." Suzanne Crow,
RFE/RL, Inc.

RUSSIAN COAL INDUSTRY TO BE PRIVATIZED. According to Interfax
of 5 January, President Boris Yeltsin signed a decree on 30
December ordering the privatization of the Russian coal
industry by 31 March 1993. A total of 54 enterprises are to
be sold off, including 19 mining organizations and 17 coal
machine-building plants. The government is to confirm a
statute on state support for coal enterprises within a
two-month period.  Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.

VOLSKY OPTIMISTIC. The industrialists' leader, Arkadii
Volsky, told Moscow TV on 5 January that he has seen the
latest IMF appraisals of the Russian economy and that they
favor his program over that of former acting prime minister
Egor Gaidar. He emphasized that the industrialists found a
common language with the new Prime Minister, Viktor
Chernomyrdin, during their meeting in Moscow on 5 January.
Volsky cited a recent opinion poll which said that 22% of
those questioned would vote for the centrist Civic Union in
popular elections against only 4% for the democrats and 3%
for communists. Volsky stated that he intends to become more
involved in political affairs. He also spoke in favor of
resurrecting a new common state on the territory of the
former Soviet Union.  Alexander Rahr, RFE/RL, Inc.

OIL EXTRACTION AND EXPORTS DOWN IN 1992. The extraction of
oil in the Commonwealth of Independent States (excluding
Azerbaijan) in 1992 totalled 409 million tons, down from 515
million tons in 1991. The comparable figures for Russia were
395 (460) million tons. These and other data were supplied by
Rosneftegaz to Interfax and Western agencies on 5 January.
The preliminary totals of oil exports in 1992 were 71 million
tons from the CIS, including about 60 million tons from
Russia. It was not stipulated whether these estimates took
account of oil shipments made by independent producers or
producing regions.  Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.

TRADE BETWEEN US AND CIS SLOW TO PICK UP. According to
officials of the US Trade Representatives Office, only five
members of the CIS--Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia and
Ukraine--have so far achieved most-favored-nation status with
the US. Belarus and Kazakhstan are expected to attain MFN
status with the US within the next two months. Trade between
the CIS and the US increased by 7.5% in the first nine months
of 1992, but it is only possible to identify the destination
and source of about half of the exports and imports. Of that
portion, 88%, or $855 million, was with Russia, and 9%, $86
million, with Ukraine.  Sheila Marnie/ Robert Lyle., RFE/RL,
Inc.

FUNERAL SERVICES FOR PRIVATIZATION VOUCHERS. A firm in Kurgan
is offering funeral services in exchange for privatization
vouchers, ITAR-TASS reported on 6 January. For one voucher
with a face value of 10,000 rubles, the firm provides a
package valued at 20,000 rubles. It includes a monument, a
fence around the grave, and the delivery of the coffin.
Customers will have to pay extra for the grave and the
religious service.  Keith Bush, RFE/RL, Inc.

               Transcaucasia and Central Asia

STATE OF EMERGENCY IN DUSHANBE. The Chairman of Tajikistan's
Supreme Soviet and the country's head of state, Imomali
Rakhmonov, imposed a state of emergency and curfew on
Dushanbe and nearby raions on 7 January, Radio Dushanbe
reported. Similar decrees by earlier governments had been
largely ignored. Rakhmonov's decree includes both the
pro-government stronghold of Gissar and the opposition
stronghold Kofarnikhon and bans demonstrations, strikes,
hunger strikes, and sporting events and limits movement of
traffic, warning that individuals will be subject to document
checks and physical searches. Political parties and other
associations will be restricted if they are deemed to
endanger the political situation.  Bess Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.

TAJIK GOVERNMENT TAKES ON BADAKHSHAN. Interfax reported on 7
January that the Tajik authorities have begun confiscating
weapons in Gorno-Badakhshan. In early 1992 the Autonomous
Oblast in the Pamirs declared itself an Autonomous Republic;
its autonomy movement, Lali Badakhshan, was part of the
coalition that unseated the Communist regime of former
President Rakhmon Nabiev. Pamiris were strong supporters of
the democratic-Islamic groups. The Interfax report noted that
the Pamiris have ignored the orders of the present government
to surrender their weapons. The same day, Tajik head of state
Imomali Rakhmonov received a delegation of women from
Badakhshan seeking help in overcoming serious food shortages
in the region.  Bess Brown, RFE/RL, Inc.

RESPONSES TO TASHKENT SUMMIT. Russian and Western news media
are describing the outcome of the meeting of Central Asian
leaders in Tashkent on 3 and 4 January as tantamount to the
creation of a Central Asian union. Articles in the 6 January
issue of Nezavisimaya gazeta characterized the meeting as
practically restoring the pre-revolutionary Turkestan, but
noted that this term could not be used because it would
offend the Tajiks, although the present Tajik government,
heavily dependent on support from Uzbekistan, is less likely
to defend Tajik national interests against the country's
Turkic neighbors than was the highly nationalistic Tajik
anti-Communist and pro-Islamic opposition. The desire of the
Central Asian leaders to create a regional association is
widely explained by the shortcomings of the CIS. Bess Brown,
RFE/RL, Inc.

SHEVARDNADZE DENIES HE HAS HAD HEART ATTACK. On 7 January
Georgian parliament chairman Eduard Shevardnadze denied
reports by Georgian and Western agencies that he had suffered
a minor heart attack the previous day, Interfax reported. A
spokesman for Shevardnadze claimed that the latter had spent
"a normal working day" on 6 January; ITAR-TASS reported that
Shevardnadze met on 7 January with the vice-president of the
International Sakharov Committee, Hans-Christian Nirskoff.
Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, Inc.

ELCHIBEY RESPONDS TO YELTSIN/BUSH STATEMENT ON KARABAKH. In
an undated response broadcast on 7 January by Radio Baku to
the Bush/Yeltsin joint statement of 3 January calling for an
immediate end to the bloodshed in Nagorno-Karabakh and the
resumption of peace negotiations under the aegis of the CSCE,
Azerbaijani president Abulfaz Elchibey reiterated that the
sole cause of the conflict is Armenia's aggression against
Azerbaijan, and accused the US Congress of discrimination
against Azerbaijan. Elchibey pledged support for any efforts
quickly to resolve the confrontation "in a just way and on
the basis of international law." Liz Fuller, RFE/RL, Inc.

TURKEY, AZERBAIJAN HOLD TALKS ON OIL PIPELINE. On 7 January
Azerbaijan's oil minister, Sabit Bagirov, concluded two days
of talks in Ankara with officials of the state-run Turkish
pipeline company Botas on the feasibility of transporting
Azerbaijani oil to the Mediterranean via Turkey, AFP
reported. Representatives of Amoco and British Petroleum,
which have signed contracts to develop Azerbaijan's offshore
oil deposits, also participated in the talks.  Liz Fuller,
RFE/RL, Inc.

KAZAKHSTAN STARTS TO MINT OWN MONEY. Kazakhstan began minting
its own coins on 1 January, Interfax reported on 6 January.
An independent daily in Alma-Ata was quoted as saying that a
single German machine in a metallurgical plant in East
Kazakhstan is turning out 750 coins per minute.  Bess Brown,
RFE/RL, Inc.

                 Central and Eastern Europe

BOSNIAN SERBS WILL NOT ALTER NEGOTIATING POSITIONS. Radovan
Karadzic said in a message televised on Belgrade TV for Orthodox
Christmas that Bosnian Serbs are sticking to their negotiating
positions while leaving the door open for flexibility at the
stalled Geneva peace talks expected to resume in a few days.
Karadzic called on "Serbs not to worry about the way the Geneva
negotiations are going." He added "The essential thing is the
result ...the one the Serbian people want ... of freedom and
independence." In the latest issue of the independent Croatian
weekly Globus, Karadzic said that Bosnian Serbs have the right
to self-defense and warned, "it is not difficult to procure
nuclear weapons on the open market." In the same issue of the
Zagreb weekly Lord Owen, cochairman of the Geneva conference,
stated that all problems in Bosnia-Herzegovina seem to him
solvable "except the Serb demand for their own republic in
Bosnia-Herzegovina," which would in fact be a state within a
state. There is no way this could fit into our peace plan, Owen
said.  Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL, Inc.

SESELJ BLASTS COSIC. Vojislav Seselj, leader of the Serbian
Radical Party, Serbia's second largest political party,
stated in an interview on Belgrade TV on 7 January that he
was astounded by federal President Dobrica Cosic's televised
6 January speech. Cosic stated that if the Serbs do not
accept the latest UN-EC Bosnian peace plan, both Bosnian
Serbs and Serbia-Montenegro could be the target of US and
NATO attacks. He described Cosic's speech as "fatalistic" and
"dishonorable," because it conveyed a feeling of capitulation
onto the people. Seselj suggested "Panicky statesmen should
step aside and leave state business to level-headed leaders
who can boldly face all danger." Cosic, he alleged, is
dissatisfied with the results of last month's elections, he
continued, and blames them on popular ignorance. Seselj
concluded that the Federal Assembly, which his party and the
Socialists dominate, had made a mistake in electing Cosic as
President in June and recommended that "the best thing would
be for Cosic to return to his books." Milan Andrejevich,
RFE/RL, Inc.

SERBIAN PATRIARCH DENOUNCES WAR. In a grim, emotional message
marking Orthodox Christmas on 7 January, Serbian Patriarch
Pavle spoke of the suffering inflicted by the wars in Croatia
and Bosnia and said Serbs are feeling ashamed as they
celebrate their Christmas Day. Pavle told his congregation,
"We as religious people, as Christians, know that a Godless
person is he who does evil and acts inhumanely regardless of
what uniform he is wearing. Our surroundings are polluted
with gun smoke; the smell of blood, the still unfound and
unburied bones on the fronts cry out to us. There is not
enough black cloth to mourn the dead." While lip service is
paid to humane principles, people still believe there is more
benefit to their own nation through evil than through good,
that their nation has the right to defend itself with cruelty
and crime, Pavle said. Radio Serbia carried the report.
Milan Andrejevich, RFE/RL, Inc.

MACEDONIA AND THE UN. Kiro Gligorov, president of the
Republic of Macedonia, announced on 7 January that he is
initiating a formal application for his country's admission
to the UN, Reuters reports. The effort comes more than a year
after the Republic of Macedonia was established and is in
part intended to gain broad international recognition, which
has been blocked by Greece. Athens demands that the republic
drop the word Macedonia from its official name. In a related
matter, more than 150 Canadian UNPROFOR troops arrived in
Macedonia on 7 January. They are intended as a deterrent to
expansion into Macedonia of the war in the former Yugoslavia.
Duncan Perry, RFE/RL, Inc.

MACEDONIA RECEIVES LOAN FROM SOROS. Hungarian-born American
financier and philanthropist George Soros will lend the
Republic of Macedonia $25 million to aid in purchasing fuel
and other supplies essential for surviving the winter. He
announced the loan on 5 January, according to Soros
Foundation sources and Western media. Soros is seeking to
draw international attention to what he called "the critical
and dangerous situation in Macedonia today," a reference to
deteriorating economic conditions and the resultant growing
potential for civil disorder. He called for immediate
international recognition of Macedonia. In addition to other
philanthropic activity in Eastern Europe, Soros has donated
$50 million to aid the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
$100 million for preserving basic science in Russia.  Duncan
Perry, RFE/RL, Inc.

RUMP YUGOSLAVIA RELEASES ROMANIAN SHIPS. On 7 January the
authorities in Belgrade released 4 Romanian tugboats and 18
barges that were detained along with their crews last week.
Western agencies quoted a spokesman for the Romanian Foreign
Ministry as saying that the detentions are thought to be a
Yugoslav retaliation for Romania's enforcement of the UN
trade embargo against rump Yugoslavia. He described the
release of the vessels as "a good sign," but added that
nobody could "anticipate Yugoslavia's next move." Also on 7
January Rompres reported that Serbian authorities have
detained another Romanian ship at the Danube port of Novi
Sad, claiming the river was too frozen at that point to
permit further passage. No further details or official
comment were available.  Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.

SEJM VOTES ABORTION BAN. By a vote of 213 to 171 with 29
abstentions, the Polish parliament on 7 January approved a
bill banning virtually all abortions. Although far more
restrictive than the European norm, the bill allows
exceptions not contained in the original draft, which
permitted abortion only to save a pregnant woman's life.
Amendments were approved to legalize abortion in cases of
rape or incest (when documented by a prosecutor); when the
pregnant woman's health is threatened (as certified by two
physicians); or if the fetus has incurable genetic defects.
All penalties were removed for women who induce abortion
themselves. Doctors who perform abortions still face prison
terms of two years. Other amendments mandated sex education
and ready access to contraceptives. The Sejm rejected a
motion to hold a national referendum on abortion, although
nearly a million citizens have signed petitions demanding
one. The bill now goes to the Senate, which is expected to
restore most of its original provisions.  Louisa Vinton,
RFE/RL, Inc.

SOLIDARITY, GOVERNMENT END COST-OF-LIVING DISPUTE. Labor
Minister Jacek Kuron and Solidarity Chairman Marian
Krzaklewski signed an agreement on 5 January closing talks on
compensation for cost-of-living increases. The union had
opened the conflict in August. Solidarity won a guarantee of
increased real wages in industry in 1993, provided growth in
GDP continues. The government secured the union's agreement
to limit consumption growth to half the rate of GDP growth,
in order to allow for increased spending on investment.
Solidarity's national leadership gave the agreement
conditional approval on 7 January. Coming in the wake of
Solidarity's negotiated conclusion of the recent general
strike in mining, the agreement confirms the union's
preeminent position on the Polish labor scene and reinforces
its image as a conciliatory negotiating partner for the
government.  Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.

WALESA SETS UP ECONOMIC COUNCIL. A presidential advisory
"council on economic growth" met for the first time on 5
January to begin deliberations on a long-term economic
strategy for Poland, PAP reported. President Lech Walesa said
the council will not meddle in the government's day-to-day
policy decisions, but will rather concentrate on his idea of
a "master plan." Walesa's chief economic adviser, former
Finance Minister Andrzej Olechowski, said that the
president's five-year term of office predestined him to
formulate Poland's "economic constitution." The council,
whose membership is open, includes 29 prominent business
leaders and 18 economic experts, including former Deputy
Prime Minister Leszek Balcerowicz. In an unrelated
development, Walesa's press spokesman dismissed as "inferior
science fiction" charges that the president had attempted to
purchase nuclear arms from Ukraine and that his closest aide
had completed a course for secret police officers. The
charges were made by former officials, now fallen from grace,
who are renowned for sensationalistic accusations.  Louisa
Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.

LITHUANIAN PRIME MINISTER IN POLAND. Polish Prime Minister
Hanna Suchocka met with her Lithuanian counterpart,
Bronislavas Lubys, in a monastery near Suwalki on 7 January.
The discussion focused on economic and trade issues. The two
prime ministers agreed to set up a joint commission to begin
work on a Polish-Lithuanian free-trade zone. Poland also
offered 2,000 tons of fuel oil to help with heating
shortages, PAP reports. Suchocka announced that Poland will
submit a draft of a bilateral treaty to Lithuania within ten
days. Although the two countries signed a cooperation
declaration in January 1992, friction over the position of
the Polish minority in Lithuania has so far impeded the
conclusion of a full treaty.  Louisa Vinton, RFE/RL, Inc.

ROMANIA'S FORMER RULING PARTY FORMS SHADOW CABINET. The
National Salvation Front announced on 7 September that it has
formed a shadow cabinet to offer an alternative government
and to fight the economic crisis facing the country. NSF
leader Petre Roman said at a press conference that the move,
which he described as "a novelty" for Romania, is "not
directed at undermining the authority" of the current
cabinet, which is dominated by the rival Democratic National
Salvation Front. He attacked it, however, for "failing to
tackle the country's major issues and for favoring a slower
pace of reforms." The members of the shadow cabinet are NSF
politicians who held senior jobs in Roman's former cabinet,
which was ousted in a wave of street violence in September
1991.  Dan Ionescu, RFE/RL, Inc.

SLOVAK DEPUTIES ON OFFICIAL VISIT TO PRAGUE. A delegation of
the National Council of the Slovak Republic, headed by its
Chairman Ivan Gasparovic, paid an official visit to Prague on
7 January, agencies report. The visit is the first of its
kind since the disintegration of Czechoslovakia.
Representatives of the Czech and Slovak parliaments stressed
that the legislators from both countries will cooperate
closely in the future. CTK reported that the leaders of the
Czech and Slovak parliaments agreed to set up joint
commissions to oversee compliance with the bilateral
agreements signed between the two republican parliaments
before the split. Both sides concluded after the talks that
the meeting was held in a "very friendly atmosphere." Jan
Obrman , RFE/RL, Inc.

CZECH REPUBLIC BEGINS STAMPING BANK NOTES. Special stamps are
being placed on millions of bank notes to prepare for a
possible early monetary split between the independent Czech
and Slovak states, agencies reported on 7 January. Czech
National Bank spokesman Martin Svehla said in an interview
with CTK that bank notes worth 20 to 30 billion koruny are
currently being stamped and will be stockpiled until they are
needed. It was also reported by Czech media that new bank
notes are being printed but that it might take several months
before they are available. Before 31 December the two
republican governments agreed to maintain a common currency
for the time being, without determining a date for the
introduction of separate currencies. Czech officials called
on the republic's population to withdraw as little money as
possible from their accounts to make the transition smooth.
Slovakia has also initiated the first steps toward a monetary
split.  Jan Obrman, RFE/RL, Inc.

COMMERCIAL BANK PRESIDENT SACKED IN ESTONIA. The commission
charged with liquidating the Tartu Commercial Bank sacked
that bank's president on 7 January, BNS reports. The
commission relieved Rein Kaarepere of his duties, and also
fired Mart Mikker, manager of the bank's Haapsalu branch.
Mikker simultaneously served as CEO of another bank, the Bank
of Tallinn.  Riina Kionka, RFE/RL, Inc.

ESTONIAN HARD CURRENCY RESERVES GROW. The Estonian Central
Bank reports an increase of some 157 million kroon (about $12
million) in hard currency reserves in December. According to
BNS of 7 January, hard currency reserves have increased by
1.3 billion kroon since the currency reform in June.  Riina
Kionka, RFE/RL, Inc.

BANK OF LATVIA TO REORGANIZE. BNS reported on 7 January that
the Supreme Council Presidium has endorsed regulations
governing the reorganization committee of the Bank of Latvia.
The committee will oversee the privatization process of the
bank. Since mid-1992 the bank has suffered losses of several
billion Latvian rubles in its dealings with the ruble-based
CIS states, while making a profit from purchasing and selling
operations of foreign currency.  Dzintra Bungs, RFE/RL, Inc.

VAGNORIUS CRITICIZES MONEY DEVALUATION. On 6 January at a
news briefing at the Seimas former Lithuanian Prime Minister
Gediminas Vagnorius deplored the devaluation of the coupon
(Lithuania's provisional money), whose value with respect to
the dollar had decreased by about 50% between 30 October and
30 December, BNS reported on 7 January. He accused the Bank
of Lithuania of issuing six billion coupons in December
without consulting the government and the Seimas. Bank
president Vilius Baldisis told the Seimas on 5 January that
the coupons had been issued after coordination with IMF
experts and in accordance with the principles of the
Lithuanian economic policy memorandum that the IMF had
approved.  Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc.

COUNTERFEIT COUPONS IN LITHUANIA. Baltfax reported on 7
January that Lithuania has been inundated with counterfeit
coupons, especially of the 500-unit value (the largest sum
issued). It is difficult to distinguish the counterfeit bills
from the real ones since they are produced by the same offset
method and differ only by the absence of a watermark.
Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc.

LITHUANIAN GOVERNMENT ADVISOR ON CATHOLIC CHURCH. Cardinal
Vincentas Sladkevicius has suggested former head of the
Lithuanian Security Service Petras Plumpa for the post of
government advisor on problems of the Catholic Church, BNS
reported on 7 January. Prime Minister Bronislavas Lubys had
previously asked the Lithuanian Conference of Bishops to
nominate a candidate. Plumpa was an active dissident and was
imprisoned in 1973-81 for duplicating the underground
publication, Chronicle of the Lithuanian Catholic Church. The
Seimas has named former Supreme Council deputy Jurgis
Jurgelis as director-general of the Lithuanian Security
Service.  Saulius Girnius, RFE/RL, Inc.

LATVIA CONFISCATES EX-SOVIET NAVAL VESSEL. Baltfax on 7
January reported that Latvian customs officials that day
confiscated the former Soviet spy ship Zond for illegally
entering Latvian territorial waters in mid-December. Zond is
a 700-ton converted trawler used as an intelligence
collection ship by the Soviet Navy. It was built in East
Germany in the 1960s. In November the Latvians accused Russia
of using the naval base in Bolderaja as a trading port
without paying the proper taxes. Zond anchored at the base on
14 December. On 28 December BNS reported that the chief of
staff of the Russian Baltic Fleet denied that the ship
belongs to the Baltic Fleet.  Doug Clarke, RFE/RL, Inc.

US UNDERLINES PRIORITIES WITH UKRAINE. State Department
spokesman Richard Boucher indicated that American officials
told visiting Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Boris
Tarasyuk that Ukraine must ratify the Strategic Arms
Reduction Treaty (START) and join the Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) before security assurances and financial aid can
be discussed. Boucher's 7 January press briefing was reported
by Western agencies. Tarasyuk is in Washington to explain
Ukraine's position on nuclear disarmament. He is expected to
meet President George Bush on 8 January. In a statement
issued by the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington and quoted by
Reuters, Tarasyuk said that "Ukraine continues to receive
only negative impulses from the West, pushing it to accede to
the NPT and scrap nuclear weapons instead of getting real
assistance in nuclear disarmament." Doug Clarke, RFE/RL, Inc.

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS IN UKRAINE. For the second year
running, Christmas (marked on 7 January according to the
Julian calendar) was a public holiday in Ukraine and the
Ukrainian media, especially television, have helped to create
a seasonal spirit. Observers point out, however, that the
celebrations are overshadowed by the deep economic crisis in
which Ukraine finds itself and the bitter split between
Ukrainian Orthodox believers into two camps: supporters of an
independent Ukrainian church and those who have remained
loyal to the Moscow Patriarchate.  Bohdan Nahaylo, RFE/RL,
Inc.

UKRAINIAN ATTITUDES TOWARD THE FORMER SOVIET UNION AND CIS.
The results of two opinion polls published in Kiev on 6
January and reported by Reuters show that many Ukrainians
regret the collapse of the Soviet Union because of the
economic hardship it has brought but nevertheless strongly
oppose the restoration of the USSR. According to a survey
taken by the Kiev International Sociological Center, 52% of
respondents view the collapse of the Soviet Union as a "great
tragedy"; most singled out the steep price rises in Ukraine
during 1992 as the main reason for thinking so. On the other
hand, according to a poll carried out by the Russian-language
former Communist Party daily, Pravda Ukrainy, only 5.9% of
those questioned want to see the Soviet Union revived. Just
over one fifth, 22.3%, want Ukraine to withdraw from the CIS.
Furthermore, on 7 January, Ukrainian TV reported that the
latest opinion polls show strong support for for an
acceleration of economic and political reform and for
Ukraine's withdrawal from the CIS. Bohdan Nahaylo, RFE/RL,
Inc.

SNEGUR ON MOLDOVAN INDEPENDENCE. Snegur told Molodezh Moldovy
of 7 January, as cited by Basapress, that recent statements
by Romanian officials pressing for Romanian-Moldovan
unification prompted him to suggest that the issue be put to
a referendum (which antiunification forces are expected to
win heavily). Snegur singled out for criticism the latest in
the series of those statements, one made by Romania's
intelligence chief Virgil Magureanu, who was quoted as saying
that his service "is doing everything" for unification.
Snegur urged all politicians to keep in closer touch with the
people of Moldova and ascertain its views on the matter.
Vladimir Socor, RFE/RL, Inc.

BELARUSIAN DELEGATION VISITS CHINA. On 8 January Parliament
Chairman Stanislau Shushkevich, began a five-day visit to
China, Belinform and TASS report. He is accompanied by the
Foreign Minister Pyotr Krauchenka The purpose of the trip is
to discuss ways of broadening bilateral ties and cooperation.
Bohdan Nahaylo, RFE/RL, Inc.

[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled by Keith Bush and Charles Trumbull
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