October 16, 1999    
This Date's Issues: 3565 • 3566 • 3567

Johnson's Russia List
#3566
16 October 1999
davidjohnson@erols.com


[Note from David Johnson:
1. AP: Greg Myre, Campaign To Realign Russian Politics.
2. Itar-Tass: Yevgeny Primakov Tops List of Presidential Hopefuls.
3. Reuters: Yeltsin's spokesman hits out at Western media.
4. New York Times: Carlotta Gall, Chechen War Leader Talks of 'Liberation' >From Russian Rule.
5. AP: Russia: Aeroflot Laundered Money.
6. Itar-Tass: Duma Official Replies to IMF on Military Spending.
7. U.S. Statement on Chechnya to OSCE Permanent Council Oct. 14.
8. Moscow Times: Simon Saradzhyan, Duma Unlikely to Ratify Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
9. Itar-Tass: ABM Treaty Breaking to Make Senseless Start Talks Ministry. 
10. RFE/RL: Tuck Wesolowsky, Russia: Financial Scandal Spreading.
11. Reuters: Almost half Russian companies loss-making.
12. St.Petersburg Times: Fyodor Gavrilov, So, Who's in Charge? NTV Tells Us Again.
13. Segodnya: Muzhiks Without BAB [Berezovsky]. LEBED-PUTIN BLOC WILL COME TO THE KREMLIN AND KILL THE "BEARS"
14. Macalester College job opening.
15. FNS: October 12 PRESS CONFERENCE WITH FATHERLAND-ALL RUSSIA UNION 
(FARU) LEADERS YEVGENY PRIMAKOV, MINTIMER SHAIMIYEV, VLADIMIR YAKOVLEV AND OTHERS.] 


*******


#1
Campaign To Realign Russian Politics
By GREG MYRE
October 16, 1999

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's free-for-all election campaign has already turned 
venomous and promises to get even nastier as the country heads for its first 
major political realignment since the 1991 Soviet collapse. 


The run-up to the Dec. 19 parliamentary poll and next summer's presidential 
ballot features mudslinging, scandal-mongering, oddball alliances and 
Russia's version of Jesse Ventura, the American wrestler-turned-politician. 


``The public perceives political activities as a spectacle, and the whole 
country turns into a giant theater when elections are held,'' said Sergei 
Markov, head of the Institute for Political Studies. 


Two months before the first ballot, the campaigning is down and dirty, but 
the stakes are high. 


Russia has lurched from one crisis to another throughout this decade, and yet 
the country's political leadership has remained little changed. President 
Boris Yeltsin has been the dominant figure, with huge powers concentrated in 
his hands, and the Communist Party has controlled parliament, opposing the 
president on almost every issue, large and small. 


But the ailing and unpopular Yeltsin is barred from a third term, leaving the 
presidential race wide open. The leading candidates include Yeltsin's 
preferred successor, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, as well as former premier 
Yevgeny Primakov, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and Communist leader Gennady 
Zyuganov. All but Putin are critics of the president. 


With so many potential candidates in the hunt, none manages more than about 
20 percent in opinion polls. The parliamentary elections, coming about six 
months ahead of the presidential vote, should set the tone, but veteran 
analysts aren't ready to make predictions. 


``The political smog is so thick in Russia these days that making a prognosis 
regarding the next president is hardly possible,'' said Sergei Kolmakov, 
political analyst with the Politika Foundation. 


The parliamentary race is just as murky, he said. 


The Communists are still the party to beat, but haven't expanded their ranks 
beyond a core of elderly supporters. They risk being overtaken by a new 
alliance joining Luzhkov and Primakov. 


The alliance, which goes by the cumbersome name of Fatherland-All Russia, is 
running neck-and-neck with the Communists in opinion polls. If the alliance 
beats the Communists in December, two important things could happen, analysts 
say. 


First, the Communists and hard-liners who have dominated parliament for years 
would become much less influential. Second, Luzhkov and Primakov would have 
strong momentum heading into the presidential campaign, though neither has 
formally declared, and only one of the two is likely to run. 


The country's leading television stations and newspapers make little attempt 
at neutrality, and many have been lining up behind the candidate of their 
choice. 


On Sunday evenings, two leading television news programs go head-to-head, 
with the private channel NTV dishing dirt on Yeltsin and his entourage, and 
state-owned ORT taking aim at Luzhkov, the Moscow mayor. 


With Yeltsin's administration linked to several alleged corruption scandals, 
NTV has enjoyed a feast of material. ORT has had to be a bit more creative. 


For example, Luzhkov happens to be very bald and clean shaven. But ORT felt 
compelled to show a photo of the mayor, superimposing a long, scraggly beard, 
to help viewers visualize Luzhkov as an Islamic militant, linking him in a 
less than subtle way to the fighters battling government troops in southern 
Russia. 


Newspapers, most of them owned by powerful tycoons with links to one of the 
main political factions, are not to be outdone. 


In one of the stranger reports to appear in print, an anti-Kremlin newspaper 
claimed that Yeltsin's daughter Tatyana Dyachenko, a close adviser to her 
father, may be linked to the kidnapping of a foreign businessman. 


The campaign is also producing bizarre political alliances. 


Yeltsin's Kremlin team was desperate to put together a pro-government faction 
in the parliamentary polls, but few politicians wanted to link their fortunes 
to the unpopular president. 


The result is a patchwork movement called Unity, which seems anything but. 


Leaders include Alexander Rutskoi, who led an armed rebellion from parliament 
against Yeltsin in 1993 and was subsequently jailed. He has since won a 
governor's seat and has apparently been rehabilitated in Yeltsin's eyes. 


Then there's political neophyte Alexander Karelin, a mountain of a man with a 
shaved head who also happens to be a reigning Olympic wrestling champion. 


On the wrestling mat, Karelin could probably make short work of Jesse 
Ventura, the U.S. grappler-turned-governor in Minnesota. But Karelin has yet 
to display any of Ventura's rhetorical flair, and Unity is faring poorly in 
opinion polls. 


``Ordinary Russians are very much disillusioned with politics and politicians 
of all kinds,'' said Markov, the analyst. ``They have been deceived many 
times by the people for whom they voted in the past.'' 


********


#2
Yevgeny Primakov Tops List of Presidential Hopefuls.


MOSCOW, October 15 (Itar-Tass) - Ex-prime minister Yevgeny Primakov has the 
highest rating among possible candidates to the Russia presidency, according 
to the results of a public opinion poll conducted by the Federal Agency of 
government communications and information (FAPSI) 


Leader of the Communist part Gennady Zyuganov ranks second in the poll. 


Chief of the presidential department for issues of home policy Andrei Loginov 
told a briefing on Friday that 16.6 percent of those polled supported Yevgeny 
Primakov, 16.2 percent preferred Gennady Zyuganov and 13.7 percent came out 
in favour of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. 


The "Fatherland-all Russia" bloc, backed by 23 percent of those polled, has 
been in the lead among political parties and associations in October. The 
KPRF bloc follows behind, approved by 18.9 percent of those polled; Yabloko 
is in third place supported by 11.2 percent. 


********


#3
Yeltsin's spokesman hits out at Western media
By Gareth Jones
October 15, 1999


MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Boris Yeltsin's spokesman accused the Western 
media Friday of trying to discredit Russian authorities and said this risked 
hurting ties with the West. 


In reference to recent reports by European and U.S. newspapers of probes into 
alleged Russian money-laundering and fraud schemes, spokesman Dmitry 
Yakushkin said, ``The president's administration is worried that Western 
media are aiming to discredit the organs of power in Russia. This may deal a 
blow to our relations with the West.'' 


``Unchecked facts are being forced onto the public and in this way ... 
Russia's image is discredited,'' he added. 


Asked to elaborate on his criticism of the Western media, Yakushkin said, 
``There are so many different allegations being made. The main point is that 
they all carry a certain bias.'' 


U.S. newspapers recently broke the news of an international probe into 
allegations that Russian officials and businessmen may have laundered up to 
$15 billion through U.S. banks. 


Italy's Corriere della Sera has been reporting on a separate investigation 
into Swiss construction firm Mabetex, which won lucrative restoration work 
contracts in the Kremlin. Both Mabetex and the Kremlin have denied any 
wrongdoing. 


The Kremlin has described the allegations as part of a broader politically 
motivated campaign to smear the country and deprive it of further 
international financial assistance. 


YAKUSHKIN SAYS WESTERN CRITICISM A ``BOOMERANG'' 


``All these allegations will return as a boomerang and may strike a blow at 
our relations with the West,'' Yakushkin said. He added that the 
``anti-Russian campaign'' could affect Russian businessmen and tourists 
traveling overseas. 


Yakushin also criticized the Russian media for their treatment of Yeltsin's 
latest health problems. 


``The president of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, sees a deliberate, 
negative attitude toward the authorities, toward himself, toward the policy 
of the Kremlin,'' he said. 


Yeltsin was admitted to the hospital last weekend with influenza but was 
allowed home Monday. 


At the time some Russian media suggested he was more ill than turned out to 
be the case and that he might be preparing to 


hand power to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. 


Yakushkin said the 68-year-old president was now in a ``robust mood'' and was 
staying at his residence outside Moscow but reiterated that Yeltsin might 
shortly take a holiday. 


Russian news agencies quoted Yakushkin as saying Yeltsin still saw Putin, who 
he named as his preferred successor in August, as the best man to replace him 
as president after next year's election. 


Yeltsin himself is barred from seeking a fresh term. Putin, a former KGB spy, 
became Russia's fifth prime minister in little more than a year in August and 
has seen his approval ratings rise sharply due to his tough stance on 
breakaway Chechnya, where Russian troops are fighting Islamic guerrillas. 


******


#4
New York Times
October 16, 1999
[for personal use only]
Chechen War Leader Talks of 'Liberation' From Russian Rule
By CARLOTTA GALL


GROZNY, Russia -- Spitting sunflower shells or plucking them from his broad, 
black beard, Shamil Basayev evinced little concern for the reports from 
Moscow branding him an Islamic terrorist and the mastermind behind the 
bombings of apartment buildings that killed nearly 300 people last month. 


"I do not care what they say," Russia's most wanted man said on a recent 
afternoon, sitting on the doorstep of his house in the Chechen capital. "Part 
of me wants people to know the truth and why we fight. But people are all 
confused about terrorists and explosions now." 


Basayev, 34, insisted that he was waging a "struggle for national liberation" 
to free Chechnya and the neighboring republic of Dagestan from Russian rule, 
but that he was not involved in acts of indiscriminate terror. He denied any 
role in the bombings in Russia and said he had no idea who was behind them. 
Dagestanis could have done it, he said, or the Russian special services. 


To Moscow, Basayev is not only responsible for the bombings: He and his 
lieutenant, an Arab guerrilla named Khattab, are also regarded as dangerous 
Islamic militants behind a new challenge to Russian rule in Dagestan, a 
province bordering on Chechnya. 


Basayev was already branded a terrorist by the Russians for his prominent 
role in Chechnya's last war against Russia, from 1994 to 1996. His best-known 
exploit was a hostage-taking raid into the Russian town of Budyonnovsk. 


In August, Basayev led 400 Dagestanis and Chechens into Dagestan to fight 
Russian forces that had surrounded a Dagestani nationalist leader known as 
Bagaouddin and his men in his home village, high in the mountains near the 
Chechen border. 


Bagaouddin had returned to Dagestan from self-imposed exile in Chechnya, and 
quickly fell into confrontation with the Dagestani authorities. When Russian 
troops surrounded him and his men in their village, Basayev, as head of a 
Dagestani and Chechen congress, threatened to intervene. 


When the Russian forces turned their firepower on two other villages that had 
been taken over by Islamic militants, Basayev and Khattab burst back into 
Dagestan on Sept. 5 and fought for six days, pulling out after the Russians 
allowed the villagers to escape. 


"It is a national liberation movement, a struggle for independence for 
Dagestan from colonial rule," Basayev insisted. Stalin annexed part of 
Chechnya to Dagestan in 1944 and deported the Chechen people to Kazakhstan. 
"We have freed part of our lands," he said, meaning Chechnya. "Now we will 
free the rest." 


That most Dagestanis do not seem interested in being thus liberated does not 
appear to worry him. There are enough who are, he said, including an emerging 
new generation of leaders. 


Basayev said he was not surprised that Chechens were accused of the 
apartment-house bombings, in part because Chechens had blackened their name 
by the many high-profile kidnappings that have become a big business in the 
republic. 


Yet he said neither he, nor any other Chechen, had any reason to bomb 
civilian targets at this moment. He only staged his hostage raid on 
Budyonnovsk, he added, when pushed close to defeat. 


"When we are forced into a corner, we are capable of anything, like 
Budyonnovsk," he said. "But we are not in a corner right now." 


He did not appear to be, as he joked with his men and played with his small 
niece. Dressed in camouflage fatigues, a green velvet beret on his shaved 
head, he showed off two Chechen-made heavy machine guns capable of piercing 
Russian armored vehicles. 


He seemed little moved by the heavy casualties his fighters have taken 
already this year; 97 died in the fighting in Dagestan and 45 in the last 
three weeks in Chechnya, he said. He himself lost 11 members of his extended 
family when their house was bombed in the last war. 


As for the scores of refugees and civilian casualties already in evidence 
here, he answered, "People see their house being destroyed today, but I see 
what will happen to their house next year." 


He also sees what happened to them in years past. Basayev describes how every 
generation of men in his family have fought the Russians going back six 
generations, how his ancestor five generations back was a lieutenant of Imam 
Shamil, the legendary leader of resistance against the Russians in the last 
century. Now, he says, he is just playing out the last chapter in 300 years 
of Chechen resistance to Russian rule. 


"My aim is to rebuild our destroyed state, and then my wish was always to 
create a confederation of Caucasus states, that will make it easier for us 
all to live," he said. - 


******


#5
Russia: Aeroflot Laundered Money
October 16, 1999


LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) - Russian investigators suspect that media mogul 
Boris Berezovsky and two airline executives hid some $600 million of hard 
currency in Switzerland - almost three times more than any figures previously 
revealed - according to court papers released today.


Investigators had previously accused Berezovsky of hiding and laundering 
about $200 million. The new figure was given to Swiss authorities by Russian 
investigators who asked for Swiss help in finding evidence and blocking bank 
accounts.


The Russian investigators claim Berezovsky, Nikolai Glushkov and Alexander 
Krasneker stole $400 million of profits from the Russian airline Aeroflot. 
They also allege the three took $200 million in air traffic fees.


The money was hidden in two Swiss companies, Andava and Forus Services, the 
Russian investigators say. It was then laundered through various financial 
operations, including purchases of property and shares, the investigators say.


The investigation is still underway, and Berezovsky has denied the charges.


The two Swiss companies and two of their directors had appealed many of the 
investigators' moves, including the freezing of bank accounts, the seizure of 
documents and the questioning of one of the directors by Swiss prosecutors in 
the presence of the Russian investigators. The Swiss federal court said today 
it has turned down those appeals.


Forus has insisted that ``it has not committed any irregularities 
whatsoever.'' The firm says it arranged some $180 million of short-term 
credit facilities for Aeroflot in 1997 and 1998 for such needs as buying 
airplanes. It insists it never possessed or had access to Aeroflot funds.


Swiss prosecutors seized large quantities of documents from Forus and Andava 
during a search of the two companies in July. The search came after 
Switzerland decided to help Russia investigate the case.


Earlier this month, Forus said it filed a suit against Switzerland's former 
federal prosecutor, Carla del Ponte, for possible industrial espionage and 
breach of official secrecy.


Forus accused del Ponte and her colleagues of passing documents from Forus to 
Russian prosecutors, with the full knowledge that those documents would be 
passed on to Aeroflot. That improperly provided the airline with inside 
information on Forus, the company said.


Berezovsky reportedly has considerable holdings in the media, auto 
manufacturing and the oil industry. He announced this summer that he would 
run for parliament in December elections.


******


#6
Duma Official Replies to IMF on Military Spending 


MOSCOW, October 14 (Itar-Tass) - The International 
Monetary Fund has no grounds to speak about Russian budget going out of 
control as a result of excessive military expenses, said on Thursday 
first deputy speaker of the State Duma lower house of parliament, Boris 
Kuznetsov. 


Kuznetsov was commenting on a Wednesday statement by IMF managing director 
Michel Camdessus, who said Russia would receive no further financial aid 
from the IMF if it found out that its budget was going out of control as 
a result of excessive military expenses. 


Kuznetsov believes that additional military expenses as a result of fight 
against terrorists in the North Caucasus with a simultaneous cutting down 
on some other expenses "can not be regarded as a violation of the 
coordinated economic programme." 
Besides, "it must be taken into consideration that a one-time increase in 
current military expenses saves future budget expenses on anti-terrorist 
activity," he added. 


At the same time, Kuznetsov stressed that when the economic programme 
was being coordinated with the IMF, "a targeted use of the new IMF 
credits was unequivocally fixed," which meant the money would go 
exclusively on paying off a debt to the IMF itself. 


"It seems the IMF managing director has now got other considerations," 
Kuznetsov remarked. He also stressed that the withholding of its next 
tranche by the IMF makes Russia service its debt to the IMF from its own 
revenues, as it already happened in September, adding that all in all 
Russia will have to pay 1.3 billion dollars in the fourth quarter of the 
year. 


"It is clear that it completely disrupts the earlier agreed upon with 
the IMF budget parameters, and besides much stronger than unforeseen 
military expenses on the fight against international terrorists in 
Dagestan and Chechnya," Kuznetsov stressed.


*******


#7
US Department of State
15 October 1999 
Text: U.S. Statement on Chechnya to OSCE Permanent Council Oct. 14 
(Discusses Chechnya, adapted CFE Treaty) (680)


David T. Johnson, U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), told the OSCE Permanent Council in
Vienna October 14 that the United States "remains concerned about the
continuing hostilities in the North Caucasus."


Johnson urged Russia to "bear in mind" that "in dealing with a
terrorist threat, the use of indiscriminate or disproportionate force
is likely to prove counterproductive."


He also urged Russia to "seek out opportunities for a constructive
dialogue with reasonable and legitimate interlocutors" and "to think
actively and creatively about using whatever possibilities the [OSCE]
Assistance Group may have to offer."


The events in Chechnya, Johnson said, "add to the challenge" of
negotiating an adapted Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty in
time for the November 18-19 OSCE Summit in Istanbul.


"We believe Russia should work with redoubled efforts together with
Moldova and Georgia to ensure that there are concrete results by
Istanbul on removing Russian forces from Moldova, and reducing the
Russian military presence in Georgia to levels that would be
consistent with the adapted CFE Treaty," Johnson concluded.


Following is the text of the statement:


(begin text)


U.S. MISSION TO THE OSCE
Vienna
October 14, 1999


STATEMENT ON CHECHNYA
DELIVERED BY AMBASSADOR DAVID T. JOHNSON TO THE PERMANENT COUNCIL


Mr. Chairman, we remain concerned about the continuing hostilities in
the North Caucasus.


The issue here for us is not Russia's territorial integrity, which
every Government represented around this table strongly supports.


Nor is it about Russia's legitimate right to combat terrorism, a right
we all affirm and wish to assist in.


It is not even an issue of interference in the internal affairs of
Russia-for better or worse, the problems of the North Caucasus are
Russia's to solve.


We all recognize that there are no easy solutions here. As so often
happens, one must choose among a series of not-so-pleasant options.


As the Russian authorities examine their alternatives, we would urge
them to bear in mind four considerations.


First, security is indivisible. The actions taken in the North
Caucasus will affect not only Russia's neighbors, but all of us, to
one degree or another.


Second, in dealing with a terrorist threat, the use of indiscriminate
or disproportionate force is likely to prove counterproductive.


Third, Russia should seek out opportunities for a constructive
dialogue with reasonable and legitimate interlocutors.


Fourth, in this connection, we are reminded of the vital role played
by the OSCE's Assistance Group in 1994-96. We urge Russia to think
actively and creatively about using whatever possibilities the
Assistance Group may have to offer.


Mr. Chairman, the Russian Federation's continuing deployment of
military forces is a matter of concern to her neighbors and all other
OSCE states.


Such concern can be alleviated by openness and transparency regarding
this concentration, in accordance with the provisions of the Vienna
Document 1994.


We note that the Russian Federation has provided information, in the
context of that Document, concerning its concentration of forces.


The provision of further details would be a demonstration of good will
and fulfillment of commitments in the larger OSCE context.


Finally, Mr. Chairman, one of the unfortunate outcomes of events in
Chechnya is that they add to the challenge of negotiating an adapted
CFE Treaty in time for Istanbul.


The question of compliance with arms control limits is complicated.
But we can all understand the political difficulty of signing a
Treaty, an essential provision of which might already have been
breached at the time of signature.


It is incumbent on those who claim they are forced by circumstance to
depart from agreements to demonstrate their intent to return to them.


We believe Russia should work with redoubled efforts together with
Moldova and Georgia to ensure that there are concrete results by
Istanbul on removing Russian forces from Moldova, and reducing the
Russian military presence in Georgia to levels that would be
consistent with the adapted CFE Treaty.


*******


#8
Moscow Times
October 16, 1999 
Duma Unlikely to Ratify Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 
By Simon Saradzhyan
Staff Writer


Already suspicious of what it sees as Washington's aspirations to world 
domination, Russia's parliament is highly unlikely to ratify the 
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty - especially after seeing the U.S. 
Senate reject the accord, experts and officials said. 


The Russian government has not yet submitted the treaty to the State Duma, 
parliament's lower house. The U.S. Senate voted 51-48 on Wednesday to reject 
the accord, which would ban underground testing of nuclear weapons. 


And the lower house will hardly agree to discuss the treaty any time soon, 
Vasily Pospelov, acting head of the Duma defense committee's staff, said. 


Pospelov, who helps to draft federal laws on the ratification of 
international security treaties, is so confident that the test ban will not 
appear on the lower house's agenda anytime soon that he has not even 
thoroughly studied the treaty. 


Pospelov believes the Duma will not take up the test ban until after it deals 
with the START II arms control treaty. START II has been languishing since it 
was signed in 1993, though the United States has ratified it. 


While not planning to consider the test ban treaty themselves, some Russian 
Duma members used the rejection as an occasion to accuse U.S. legislators of 
undermining international security. 


Some independent experts maintain, however, that Russia would only benefit 
from ratification. "The United States has now lost moral ground, while Russia 
will move closer to the implementation of its idea of a multipolar world by 
ratifying the treaty that will come into force only if endorsed by other 
nuclear powers," Alexander Pikayev of the Moscow Carnegie Center said. 


Ivan Sofranchuk of the Center for Policy Studies said, however, that the 
Russian parliament would have thought twice about endorsing the test ban even 
if it were ratified by the United States. 


The United States and other Western nuclear powers, such as France, have been 
modeling nuclear blasts with the help of supercomputers - technology that 
Russia doesn't have. 


"These computers will help the United States advance its nuclear-weaponry 
capabilities, whereas we will remain where we are if the treaty is ratified," 
Sofranchuk said. 


Sofranchuk noted, however, that the U.S. rejection doesn't give Russia any 
moral ground to resume nuclear tests. 


"Russia will have the image of an international security champion as long as 
it maintains the moratorium," but any attempts to resume the tests will ruin 
this image for decades, he said. 


Instead of violating this voluntary moratorium, Russia continues to conduct 
subcritical tests at its Arctic test site at Novaya Zemlya, in which nuclear 
materials are brought to the verge of uncontrolled chain reactions that cause 
explosions. 


The Foreign Ministry also criticized the U.S. Senate vote, and said Russia is 
committed to the treaty. 


*******


#9
Abm Treaty Breaking to Make Senseless Start Talks Ministry.


MOSCOW, October 15 (Itar-Tass) - Any negotiations on strategic nuclear 
armaments will become senseless if the ABM Treaty is thwarted, a report of 
the Russian Foreign Ministry, received by Itar-Tass on Friday, says. 


"Those in the United States who say it is necessary to break the ABM Treaty 
break not only the START-1 and the START-2 but also real prospects for the 
curtailment of strategic armaments," the report says. "The moves of the 
United States as regards the ABM Treaty is the continuation of the firm 
policy aimed at a single-polar world, which has been demonstrated by the 
refusal of the U.S. Senate to ratify the Treaty on the Nuclear Test Ban. It 
is in the interests of the international community to put a barrier on the 
way of this alarming tendency." 


A serious threat to the ABM Treaty and prospects for the nuclear disarmament 
process and the non-proliferation has appeared as a result of the U.S. plan 
to create a national anti- missile system banned by the ABM Treaty, the 
Foreign Ministry thinks. 


On October 12 Russia, China and Byelorussia submitted a draft resolution to 
the U.N. General Assembly, urging the preservation and the observation of the 
ABM Treaty of 1972. Moscow counts on a broad support to that document, the 
report stresses. 


*******


#10
Russia: Financial Scandal Spreading
By Tuck Wesolowsky


The Kremlin has failed again this week to get rid of the man who is accusing 
President Boris Yeltsin of corruption. RFE/RL correspondent Tuck Wesolowsky 
takes a look at how the investigations into Russian money laundering have 
spread to the United States, Russia, Switzerland, and beyond. 


Prague, 15 October 1999 (RFE/RL) -- Three times Russian President Boris 
Yeltsin has tried to fire his prosecutor general, who has been investigating 
allegations of corruption at the highest levels of the Kremlin. And three 
times the Russian leader has failed. 


Yesterday, the upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, again 
refused to sack suspended General Prosecutor Yurii Skuratov. Under Russian 
law, only the Federation Council, made up of regional governors, has the 
authority to dismiss the prosecutor general.


Anatol Lieven, a Russian expert at the International Institute for Strategic 
Studies in London, told our correspondent the vote is a further sign of 
Yeltsin's slipping popularity.


"It is a sign that a majority of the regional bosses are now hostile to 
Yeltsin, and are anxious the Yeltsin regime should not be able to continue in 
some form after next year's presidential elections."


Back in April, Yeltsin suspended Skuratov, saying the prosecutor had abused 
his office. The suspension came after Russian television aired footage 
depicting a man resembling Skuratov frolicking in bed with two young women. 
Skuratov did not say whether he was the man in the footage, but he did say 
that the release of the footage is an attempt by officials to blackmail him 
and bring a halt to his investigation into corruption in high places. 


Specifically, Skuratov was probing whether a Swiss-based construction 
company, Mabetex, had paid large sums to win a valuable contract to renovate 
the Kremlin. The charges would eventually envelop Yeltsin and his family. 
Russian officials vehemently denied the accusations. 


The Mabetex case is just one of several in the latest round of corruption 
charges to hit Russia. American and Russian officials are now investigating 
charges that Russian mobsters may have laundered up to $7 billion through the 
Bank of New York. 


There are also charges that loan money from the International Monetary Fund 
may be involved. Both the IMF and Russia deny that. Russia says this scandal 
is the work of U.S. officials opposed to the Clinton administration's foreign 
policy in Russia.


The Mabetex scandal gained new momentum last month, when Swiss investigators 
announced that up to $15 million had been made available to Yeltsin, his 
family, and senior government officials by the Swiss construction firm. It 
was the first time the Yeltsin family had been directly linked to the case, 
and the first time a precise figure had been mentioned.


Swiss investigators say they have evidence that President Yeltsin and his two 
daughters, Tatyana Dyachenko and Yelena Okulova, were given credit cards that 
were billed to Mabetex. A Swiss bank confirmed yesterday that it had given 
credit guarantees to back credit cards for the Yeltsin family at the request 
of Mabetex. According to Swiss officials, Mabetex records show that payments 
were also made to another Swiss bank, where Yeltsin and his daughters had 
accounts. Mabetex is also alleged to have transferred one million dollars to 
a Hungarian bank account for Yeltsin.


Swiss officials are also investigating Pavel Borodin, the Kremlin official 
who oversaw Mabetex's renovation contract. Swiss officials say Mabetex opened 
bank accounts for Borodin in two Swiss cities. 


This week, Skuratov held a press conference in Moscow and said the 
allegations that Mabetex gave bank accounts to Yeltsin and his daughters are 
true.


An Italian newspaper, Corriere della Serra, reported last month that a 
furniture company linked to Mabetex had also laundered money for the Kremlin. 
The Italian paper alleges that Russian couriers delivered money to the 
company, which then channeled it into bank accounts that the Yeltsins could 
access. The furniture company denies those charges. 


Lieven says the allegations resemble many dubious operations set up by 
Russians who live abroad.


"There have been many such firms, particularly in Switzerland, in recent 
years which have basically specialized in helping Russians to get their money 
out. In quite a number of cases, they were -- as in this case -- they were 
founded by Russian Jews who had themselves left Russia well in the 1970s, and 
then formed firms in the West. And then, basically, when the Soviet Union 
collapsed (they) created new links with Russia, which were used above all for 
money laundering."


Meanwhile, Swiss law enforcement officials have widened the scope of their 
Russian corruption probe. Switzerland confirmed this week that it has 
launched a probe into Lev Chernoi, Russia's aluminum magnate, following a 
request from the Russian authorities. The United States and Britain have 
reportedly opened their own probes into Chernoi. 


Chernoi is officially described as a business partner of Trans-World Metals, 
a UK-based metals trading company with extensive business interests in the 
former Soviet Union. He and his two brothers control the associated 
Trans-World Group, which has dominated the Russian aluminum industry. A 
company spokesman has denied the allegations against Chernoi.


Swiss law enforcement officials have been kept busy by Russian officials 
probing dubious business dealings. Switzerland, known as a safe haven for 
ill-gotten gains, has been more than willing to publicize its cooperation in 
the probes. 


Three months ago, Carla del Ponte, then Switzerland's attorney general, 
raided two companies with close ties to the controversial Russian business 
tycoon, Boris Berezovsky. Several bank accounts were blocked and files taken 
away.


Lieven says in the past the West was willing to turn a blind eye to reports 
of corruption within the Yeltsin government. For the West, Lieven explains, 
"our friend Boris" was the bulwark against a communist revival in Russia.


"Now after everything that has come out after the great disillusionment in 
the West with the Yeltsin regime and Russia and with the American election 
campaign approaching and, which this is a major issue, these considerations 
count for a great deal less. So I think that one could say that Western 
police forces have been given the green light to investigate things that 
formerly they would have been quite strongly discouraged from investigating." 


*******


#11
Almost half Russian companies loss-making


MOSCOW, Oct 15 (Reuters) - The Russian economy has picked up since last
year's crisis, but nearly half of all enterprises are still unprofitable,
Deputy Economy Minister Vyacheslav Morgunov said on Friday. "The amount of
loss-making enterprises dropped by 6.4 percent in January to June 1999
compared to the same period in 1998, and 42.5 percent of all enterprises
were loss-making on July 1, 1999," Morgunov told a ministry meeting.
Government officials have said since spring that the economy is
recovering faster than expected.
Morgunov said profits were growing mainly due to the positive effects of
devaluation. Export revenues had increased considerably in ruble terms.
Rising world oil prices have also helped to boost the economy, which is
heavily dependent on energy exports, economists say.
Morgunov said the consolidated profit of big and medium enterprises,
excluding agriculture, banking and insurance sectors, rose 300 percent to
203 billion rubles ($8 billion) in the first half of 1999 compared to the
same period last year.
He did not say if the rise was in real terms, and he did not give figures
for smaller business.
Timber, chemistry, food, construction and light industries were the
sectors growing most dynamically, Morgunov said.


*******


#12
St.Petersburg Times
October 15, 1999
NOTES OF AN IDLER
So, Who's in Charge? NTV Tells Us Again
By Fyodor Gavrilov


NTV's current affairs program Itogi has been making a regular habit of 
unmasking those allegedly pulling the strings in the Kremlin.


Sunday night they introduced a new, previously unknown, name to President 
Boris Yeltsin's secret court: deputy Kremlin chief of staff Vladimir Makarov, 
a retired KGB agent.


Makarov, according to NTV, is a business associate of Kremlin-connected 
banker, Alexander Mamut.


At the very mention of Makarov's name in an interview with an NTV reporter, 
Alexander Po chinok, head of the Russian Tax Ministry, looked terrified.


Intriguing as this all is, it seems a bit old hat - how many times have we 
heard the same story?


It usually goes like this: A previously unknown Kremlin insider with shady 
business dealings is unmasked by the media; the stealthy gray cardinal has 
the key to President Boris Yeltsin's proverbial inner sanctum; he is robbing 
the country blind and is responsible for everything bad happening in Russia.


We know his name - or think we do anyway - but for some reason he has never 
been photographed and rarely appears in public. The most intriguing case was 
that of Leonid Dyachenko, Yeltsin's newly outed son-in-law and the husband of 
first daughter and presidential image advisor Tatyana Dyachenko.


Not only is Dyachenko rarely seen in public - to this day, the media can't 
seem to agree on his name.


The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal refer to him as Leonid but NTV 
television insists that his name is Alexei. Some media have reported that 
while his name is indeed Leonid, members of the Yeltsin clan call him 
"Lyosha," the familiar and diminutive form of Alexei.


A Kremlin spokesman said that "according to his passport" Dyachenko's name is 
Leonid. The spokesman confirmed that Yeltsin family members do indeed him 
"Lyosha." Asked why he was called Lyosha, instead of Lyonya - the familiar 
form for Leonid - the spokesman said "Leonid, Lyonya, Lyoshya. Such things 
are different in every family."


By whatever name, Dyachenko was mentioned on the floor of the United States 
Congress in connection with a headline-making money laundering scandal in 
which billions of dollars in allegedly embezzled Russian cash was moved 
through the Bank of New York. But, surprise surprise, nobody knew what he 
looked like. That is, until the daily newspaper scooped everybody with a 
front page photo.


Remember Roman Abramovich?


But back in May, the oil magnate Abramovich was being touted as the real 
invisible hand of the Kremlin, the ultimate puppet master. So stealthy was 
Abramovich that the weekly newspaper Versiya ran a competition, offering 
readers cash prizes for his photograph.


We now know that Abramovich, a business colleague of oil and media tycoon 
Boris Berezovsky, runs the giant Sibneft oil company. His picture appeared on 
billboards in Moscow - apparently put up by the Kremlin's opponents - that 
referred to his ties to Yeltsin's "Family."


Ho Hum. Just another oligarch roaming the countryside, it turns out.


On the other hand, if these people really wield the influence NTV says they 
do, we really have no idea just who the people are that are really running 
this country.


******


#13
Russia Today press summaries
Segodnya
14 October 1999
Muzhiks Without BAB [Berezovsky]
LEBED-PUTIN BLOC WILL COME TO THE KREMLIN AND KILL THE "BEARS"
Summary
At his recent news conference in Moscow, former presidential candidate and 
[current] Krasnoyarsk Governor Lebed publicly distanced from famous tycoon 
Berezovsky, demonstratively offered his support to premier Putin and rejected 
his party's participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections.


Putin could face dismissal any time because everyone knows how unpredictable 
Boris Yeltsin is. And Lebed, who believes that "by the end of November, all 
political elite in Russia will be stained from top to bottom with 
compromising materials and will not survive the Duma campaign", is ready to 
invite Putin to join his movement. A bloc of Lebed and Putin will easily win 
the Duma elections as the potential electorate of Vladimir Zhirinovsky will 
inevitably come to them. Besides, Lebed's "muzhiks", if separated from 
Berezovsky, will leave no chance for Sergey Shoigu's "Unity", loyal to "the 
Family".


Thus, Putin's dismissal will become the last and fatal mistake of President 
Yeltsin.


******


#14
Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 
From: Gary Krueger <krueger@macalester.edu>
Subject: Job Description


Macalester College’s International Studies and the Russian, Central and
East European Area Program seek to fill a two year visiting appointment,
with the possibility of an additional two year renewal, to teach courses
in both the politics of the Former Soviet Union and its successor states
and themes in International Studies. Teaching load is four courses a
year, evenly divided between International Studies and the Russian,
Central and East European Area Program. The ideal candidate will have
expertise in the domestic politics of one or more of the major countries
of the region and the capacity to integrate those experiences and
conditions with global topics (e.g., human rights, women and gender
issues, civic movements and democracy, identity, and multinationalism).


Although all qualified applicants will be considered, we prefer the rank
of Associate Professor or those with marked scholarly achievements
beyond the dissertation. Moreover, the successful candidate will have
demonstrated effective teaching at all levels of the undergraduate
curriculum. For fullest consideration, all relevant materials must be
received by January 17, 2000. Please send a statement of teaching
interests, current vitae, a sample of recent scholarship, and three
letters of recommendation to:


Margaret Beegle
International Studies and Programming
Macalester College
1600 Grand Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55105


Macalester College, a highly selective, private liberal arts college
enrolling 1800 students from 48 states and 70 foreign countries, is
located in a residential neighborhood of the Twin Cities. Macalester
College has a longstanding commitment to maintaining a multi-national,
multi-ethnic community and, as an Affirmative Action, Equal Employment
Opportunity Employer, welcomes and encourages applications from women
and minority candidates.


******


#15
Excerpt
PRESS CONFERENCE WITH FATHERLAND-ALL RUSSIA UNION (FARU) LEADERS YEVGENY
PRIMAKOV, MINTIMER SHAIMIYEV, VLADIMIR YAKOVLEV AND OTHERS
(FARU OFFICE, 18:15, OCTOBER 12, 1999)
copyright Federal News Service (www.fednews.ru)


Q: TV Associated Press. What is your view, Yevgeny Maximovich, of the
government's actions in Chechnya, of the Chechen policy, especially in view
of the fact that when you were prime minister, the policy was, to all
appearances, somewhat different?


Primakov: At that time there were no such acts of terrorism. If such acts
of terrorism were committed at the time I was prime minister and if a
similar attack was mounted from Chechen territory against Dagestan, I think
that we would have also taken quite resolute actions against the
terrorists. That is why we support the government's actions in that respect. 


At the same time we are saying that the land operation that was announced
in connection with the establishment of the security zone should not evolve
into a large-scale war that could involve innocent civilians and cause
large casualties on both sides, including the federal troops. 


Q: TV Associated Press. Could Mr. Shaimiyev add his comments? 


Shaimiyev: I share Yevgeny Maximovich's view. Indeed, especially since you
know my position from the start as regards the use of force in settling the
Chechen problem. But there are no excuses for terror or terrorism.
Therefore, the sources of terrorism and its material and ideological base
must be stamped out. This is without doubt. At the same time the Chechen
problem as a whole is being addressed, and we are nearing its solution,
including the preservation of the integrity of the Russian Federation. And
here a very careful attitude to the population must be displayed because we
are to live together with these people. This is extremely important.
Indeed, neither the mass media nor politicians should do anything that
would be to the detriment of the interests of the population. 


Primakov: You see, we do not have -- judging by your question, you were
probing for some differences between us, but there are none. 


Q: People clad in blue suits of Fatherland--All Russia have appeared in
St. Petersburg and I know in Ryazan too and they are cleaning up yards and
streets. Will this campaign continue?


Yakovlev: They appeared in Moscow first. You might have noticed how many
people wearing these blue jackets were at the stadium during the football
game. There are fewer of them in St. Petersburg, of course, but they are a
great help and great advertising.


Primakov: I want to point out that these jackets were made long before the
election campaign began. So, the money that was used to make them has
nothing to do with the election campaign.


Shaimiyev: Speaking of Tatarstan, we clean up our yards and streets in
suits of various colors. But I am sure that voters in our republic will
give their support to the Fatherland--All Russia bloc, because this is a
real public and political force that has been created organizationally and
enjoys the trust of people.


Q: Yevgeny Maximovich, what is your attitude toward the Unity bloc? Are
you going to establish any contacts with this organization?


Primakov: First of all, I see a strong interest among the journalists in a
number of issues. Yesterday I had the honor of appearing on the Hero of the
Day program and I was asked exactly the same questions you are asking me
today. And I answered them, which makes it all the more easier for me to
answer this question today.


Our approach toward Unity is identical to our approach to any other
organization that is participating in elections and that has a healthy
core. We are ready to cooperate with this bloc, this movement. And we do
not consider it our antipode.


At the same time I'd like to point out that the executive branch -- and
this is perfectly in line with the spirit and letter of the Constitution,
if you wish, and all laws -- should not take part in elections in any way
except creating conditions that can be equally used by all participants in
the election campaign, that is creating equal conditions for all and at the
same time creating conditions for holding calm, honest and clean elections.


Q: ABC. Yevgeny Maximovich, I did not watch yesterday's program. You took
an active part in the talks with the IMF, you are aware of the present
situation with the latest tranche. How will this affect the economic
situation in Russia? Has the delay seriously worsened the economic
situation in the country?


Primakov: Frankly, I do not understand the delay with the tranche to
Russia. You see, all the conditions have been fulfilled, all the agreements
have been reached. As to the scandal around the Bank of New York, it should
not affect Russia as a whole. This scandal can affect and involve only
individual unscrupulous businessmen who laundered their money, but not the
entire Russian business. 


The more so, it is wrong to say that Russia is a country that has no
future free of corruption. I think that such measures as postponing
tranches to Russia are not fair, to say the least.


Kulik: I would like to add a few words. The present situation is not one
to make us faint. The Primakov government in addition to the revenue
provided for in the 1999 budget issued additional assignments to generate
additional revenue to the sum of 46 billion rubles. These assignments were
carried out till April. In fact, this is being done to this day. We expect
additional federal budget revenue of about 48-49 billion rubles.


Of course, this money could have been spent on some other needs, first of
all, social ones. At present this money is being spent to support the
Defense Ministry. This money was also used to service our debts to the sum
of 45 million dollars. The date of payment was late in October. Of course,
this was easier to do... As to Premier Primakov, in the eight months of his
stay in office and without getting any credits he paid out 6.2 billion
dollars.


Of course, it would be better if we got the tranche. But we should not get
used to this milk bottle, so to say. WE should avoid developing a habit. We
should get over the thought that without this assistance everything will
collapse and go to pieces in Russia. Therefore, we should treat this calmly.


Primakov: This money is used to repay the loan.


Q: -- (inaudible) -- do you think this scandal involving Fatherland--All
Russia adds to your -- (inaudible) --


Primakov: Some scandalous and provocative -- you were right in calling
them a provocation -- I do not think we should even respond to them because
I hope that our viewers and readers are mature enough to tell the truth
from a lie. Some of them are simply outrageous in form. We have stated
this, and we will respond in a proper way, without, however, using similar
methods. 


Yakovlev: You yourself, what do you think it is?


Primakov: It's a provocation.


Moderator: The last question, please, because we are running out of time.


Yakovlev: There is no such thing as last question. There is still a lot of
questions to ask.


Primakov: I just want to add a couple of things. Do you remember deputy
Vengerovsky's inquiry in which he said that I -- and I was Foreign Minister
at that time -- had received $800,000 from Iraq in exchange for parts of
nuclear weapons that had been supplied to Iraq. 


The Prosecutor General's Office responded to the inquiry and Mr.
Vengerovsky sent me the reply. I am awfully grateful to him for this. The
reply said that a thorough investigation had been carried out and no parts
of nuclear weapons had been supplied to Iraq and that the Foreign Minister
could not have possibly involved in this in any way.


Moderator: Since there is no such thing as the last question, perhaps, we
will leave it for the next time. Thank you very much for your participation.


*******