January 30, 2001   

This Date's Issues:   5058 • 5059 • 5060

Johnson's Russia List
#5060
30 January 2001
davidjohnson@erols.com

[Note from David Johnson:
1. AFP: NTV pleads with Putin, but walks away unconvinced.
2. strana.ru: Public organizations call upon Putin not to allow Russia to be turned into world nuclear waste dump yard.
3. Interfax: Russian leader urges "coherent land legislation" at presidium of State Council.
4. Itar-Tass: Land Use Decisions May Be Given to Regions. 
5. Reuters: Russia 2000 GDP growth seen at 7.7 pct-Goskomstat.
6. AFP: Russia's Military Shoots Down Bush Plan to "Update" ABM Treaty.
7. Moscow Times: Yevgenia Albats, How Journalists Get Paid.
8. Trud: POLL: 39% OF RUSSIANS TRUST PRESIDENT.
9. Financial Times (UK): Peter Aven, Can pay, should pay. Suggestions that Russia should not meet all its sovereign debt repayments could prove highly damaging.
10. AFP: Tatar president becomes first regional leader to seek third term.
11. Moscow Times: Ana Uzelac, Duma Mulls Letting The Regions Merge.
12. Matthew Maly: Some thoughts triggered by Putin's meeting with NTV journalists.
13. Chicago Tribune: Colin McMahon, BITTER WINTER IN RUSSIA TESTS EVEN ITS STOICS.
14. Reuters: Kazakh leader wages war on corruption and flattery.
15. AP: Yeltsin Hospitalized in Moscow.
16. Reuters: Russian missile experts head for U.S. training.]

*******

#1
NTV pleads with Putin, but walks away unconvinced

MOSCOW, Jan 30 (AFP) - 
It was a bold indictment of Kremlin media censorship -- or an anguished cry 
for Western help.

Still, some of Russia's most famous broadcasters hinted on early morning 
television Tuesday that President Vladimir Putin may have a distinctly 
unreconstructed Soviet view of media rights.

"He does not understand the simplest things," said NTV television commentator 
Viktor Shenderovich after he and 10 colleagues met Putin behind closed 
Kremlin doors for three hours on Monday.

"He does not understand that we not only have the right to talk about corrupt 
bureaucrats, but also the duty," said Shenderovich, whose biting political 
satire program seldom casts Kremlin insiders in a flattering light.

"I think that, quite simply, he (Putin) does not understand this duty," 
Shenderovich added.

The battle swirling around NTV and its holding company Media-MOST has become 
increasingly ugly in recent weeks.

The offices of Russia's only independent national news broadcaster are 
visited by prosecutors on a nearly-daily basis and its journalists -- 
including primetime presenters -- are questioned seemingly at will.

The station's owner Vladimir Gusinsky is living under house arrest in Spain 
while potential Western investors like CNN magnate Ted Turner remain cautious 
about getting involved in anything as politically contentious as NTV.

Especially if ex-KGB spy Putin is not on their side. And the station's 
reports do not think that he is.

"If someone told him (Putin) that he could quietly commit a political murder 
by shutting down NTV, he will not succeed," said NTV's general director 
Yegeny Kiselyov, who runs Russia's hard-hitting political analysis program 
Itogi.

"We have lost some of our old illusions about the government's possible 
thoughts about us."

The future of NTV and its potential government takeover is hurting Putin's 
image abroad and the station's on-air stars, in their revealing and 
unprecedented interview, portrayed a Russian leader who appeared 
uncomfortable of being in a tight spot.

"I suggested to the president that since you are the one who invited us to 
the Kremlin, perhaps you should be the one who starts talking," said NTV news 
broadcaster Marianna Maksimovskaya

"And then he said, well, you are the ones who wanted to meet, so ..." 
Shenderovich chipped in.

"Basically, the meeting did not start off very calmly," Maksimovskaya 
concluded.

Putin's main argument -- to which he has now stuck for several weeks -- was 
that he was helpless from intervening in prosecutors' fraud investigations 
into Media-MOST and its boss Gusinsky.

"Today we found out the prosecutors are a completely independent entity," 
Shenderovich said with a wry grin on his face.

Maksimovskaya chipped in: "Even from the law."

And Putin further argued that the company seeking to take over Media-MOST, 
Gazprom, while overseen by Kremlin administrators, is not taking orders from 
the presidency but simply seeking to recover its old debts.

Those arguments did not fly with the NTV crew and it appears that, in no 
uncertain terms, they told the Kremlin boss so to his face.

"Somehow, our leaders seem to have become unused to being told views that 
contradict their own," Maksimovskaya said.

"May be he (Putin) just thinks that he will just rule everything, and 
everyone else will nod their heads and agree."

In a closing salvo, the NTV staff threatened to quit the station should 
Gazprom win their case and Russia is left with three government-run 
television channels.

"Everybody who could have left us already has. What remains is a team, a 
group of people who think alike. It was important for us to tell him (Putin) 
that we work absolutely... as we can. Professionally, competently and 
objectively. And we especially talk about the news," said Maksimovskaya.

"There will be a great scandal (should Gazprom win NTV). People will quit," 
she warned.

*******

#2
strana.ru
January 30, 2001
Public organizations call upon Putin not to allow Russia to be turned into 
world nuclear waste dump yard

More than 500 public organizations in Russia have called upon President 
Vladimir Putin not to allow Russia to be turned into a world dump of nuclear 
waste.

Their message has appeared shortly before the State Duma is to once again 
examine bills that would allow spent nuclear fuel to be brought into Russia.

The ecologists consider that the Duma Deputies have simply been blinded by 
the possibility of getting $20 billion from countries that want to get rid of 
their radioactive waste by sending it to Russia. 

Moreover, the Duma has ignored the opinion of 2.5 million Russians that 
signed a petition supporting a nature protection referendum whose first and 
main question concerns a ban on bringing nuclear materials into Russia's 
territory. 

The Deputies have also ignored the results of sociological studies that show 
that more than 90% of the Russians are against importing nuclear fuel.

In the opinion of ecologists, the high technologies that allegedly allow safe 
reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel will, in reality, end with burying 
millions of cubic meters of radioactive waste into the ground and radioactive 
contamination of vast territories.

Millions of Russians have already experienced the consequences of nuclear 
accidents, the message reads. The import of thousands of tons of foreign 
nuclear waste will only raises risks and enrich a few already wealthy people, 
but will be ruinous for all the rest.

The ecologists consider that "the deadly breath of imported nuclear waste 
will also affect future generations" and that is why they view the President 
as the only person that can "stop this reckless nuclear venture."

*******

#3
Russian leader urges "coherent land legislation" at presidium of State 
Council 
Interfax 

Moscow, 30 January: Opening a sitting of the presidium of the State Council 
in the Kremlin on Tuesday [30 January], Russian President Vladimir Putin said 
that "the country needs coherent land legislation". 

"We have put off this issue for too long and now we have run out of time," 
said the Russian president. 

He proposed that issues of land legislation be discussed at the presidium "at 
a top political and expert level". The president said that then the 
discussion documents would go to the government where they would be revised, 
and then there would be hearings on the land issue at the State Duma. 

The next step would be a special government sitting on the issue, followed by 
its debate at the State Council and the State Duma, Putin said. 

In his introductory remarks, the president stressed that Russia still did not 
have "a legal basis for the ownership of land". He described the land issue 
as "a perennial Russian issue". 

Moreover, Putin said that the issue of land ownership was "important in both 
the political and economic sense". The president said that it was not just a 
matter of private plots and agricultural land, but also about land occupied 
by industrial facilities. 

The head of state said that the lack of regulation of this issue was 
hampering implementation of investment projects and was "a basis for the 
development of corruption and arbitrariness by officials". 

Putin said that the country also lacked a single land register, which meant 
that there were no land cost standards, and consequently it is impossible to 
work out the size of payments for land. 

He said that unless decisions were taken in this sphere, there could be no 
serious solutions to the land problem. 

*******

#4
Land Use Decisions May Be Given to Regions. .

MOSCOW, January 30 (Itar-Tass) - Kremlin policy is likely to give territories 
of the Russian federation the right to decide themselves whether land sale 
and purchase is allowed or not. 

Improved efficiency for the agrarian sector should be the only criterion, a 
high-ranking representative of the presidential administration told Tass. 

Land reform, being considered by the State Council Presidium on Tuesday, 
"needs detailed discussion and, probably, will be submitted to a plenary 
session of the State Council," the official said. 

Minister of Economic Development and Trade German Gref and Belgorod region 
Governor Yevgeni Savchenko will give their views on the issue at the 
Presidium meeting. Kremlin officials believe they will differ and that a 
debate is sure to be started. 

Three ways to resolve the issue of land ownership are envisaged by the 
Kremlin administration: to allow private ownership of land, not to allow it, 
or leave it to be settled locally. 

The Kremlin official interviewed by Tass said the third way was "a reasonable 
compromise which will not stir up public opinion." 

Polls showed people in various regions have different views on sale and 
purchase of land, he said. Southern regions with large areas of fertile soil 
were more conservative while the north was more susceptible to new trends. 

The official admitted the government "does not like very much the idea that 
the regions should be given an opportunity to decide what to do with 
agricultural land, fearing it may disrupt the common economic space of 
Russia." 

Nonetheless, he believed there were two ways by which discussion of the land 
problem may develop. Either the issue would be postponed for a long time or 
the government "will agree to waive its principles" and then a compromise 
approach would have the upper hand, in which case parts of the federation 
would have the right to deal with agricultural land by themselves. 

*******

#5
Russia 2000 GDP growth seen at 7.7 pct-Goskomstat

MOSCOW, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Russia's gross domestic product growth may reach 
7.7 percent in 2000 compared to the previous year, head of the State 
Statistics Committee (Goskomstat) Vladimir Sokolin said on Monday. 

Sokolin told a news conference Russia's GDP rose about 7.7 percent in 
year-on-year terms in the first nine months of 2000. 

"The resulting figure (for the last year) will be the same or slightly 
smaller," he said. 

This estimate was in line with earlier official forecasts of a 7.6 percent 
GDP growth in 2000 after 7.7 percent GDP growth in the first nine months. 

Sokolin said GDP growth slowed at the end of last year mostly because the 
pace of industrial output growth fell in December, especially in the 
machine-building industry. 

Russia's industrial output rose 2.5 percent in year-on-year terms in December 
after a 7.6 percent year-on-year increase in November. Russian industry 
produced nine percent more goods in 2000 than in 1999. 

*******

#6
Russia's Military Shoots Down Bush Plan to "Update" ABM Treaty

MOSCOW, Jan 30, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Russia's military leadership 
voiced its opposition Tuesday to a plan mooted by U.S. Vice President Dick 
Cheney to "update" the 1972 ABM treaty to let Washington build a national 
missile defense (NMD) system.

"Russia opposes changes to the ABM treaty. Updating the treaty would end up 
destroying it," news agencies quoted General Valery Manilov, deputy armed 
forces chief, saying of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, a cornerstone of 
arms control for three decades.

The new U.S. administration of President George W. Bush has come out in favor 
of the controversial NMD system, whose development was put on hold by 
outgoing president Bill Clinton last September.

Cheney hinted Sunday that the United States could breach the treaty signed 
with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War in order to develop a 
unilateral missile shield against attack by so-called rogue states.

Washington had signed the 1972 treaty with "a country that no longer exists, 
and must be modified to allow for the (NMD) program," Cheney told Fox News.

"The modification Americans speak of amounts to emasculating the essence of 
the ABM treaty, and the purpose for which it was signed -- preserving a 
balance between strategic defensive and offensive weapons," Manilov was 
quoted as saying by Interfax.

He had suggested an alternative to deploying the unilateral NMD shield, which 
was the "creation of a non-strategic theater missile defense system with the 
participation of all interested states."

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States last Friday that 
NMD deployment would "irreparably damage" global stability.

Efforts in North Korea and Iran to build long-range missiles prompted the 
United States to go it alone with a nuclear defense system, arguing that it 
is increasingly liable to attack.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who underlined last week that the NMD 
dispute was not "only a Russian-U.S. problem" and adding that Moscow wanted 
to consult the European Union, held talks here Tuesday with German Defense 
Minister Rudolf Scharping. 

*******

#7
Moscow Times
January 30, 2001
How Journalists Get Paid
By Yevgenia Albats 

The Prosecutor General's Office — the main state body overseeing the rule
of law in Russia — has distributed a list of journalists who received loans
from Media-MOST. This list has been widely circulated around Moscow and is
currently being studied by top Kremlin officials. Tongues were wagging all
weekend: "Did you hear that so-and-so received $120,000?"

Leonid Troshin, the prosecutor's press spokesman, gave an angry interview
in which he chewed over the details of supposedly secret (at least until
they are presented in court) documents obtained during the latest search of
Media-MOST's offices. "Journalists who have been generously fed by this
fugitive entrepreneur [i.e. Media-MOST owner Vladimir Gusinsky] are
insulting investigators who are just doing their job."

Troshin's remarks are especially piquant when you recall that in 1999 he
ran for deputy mayor of Moscow on the same ticket with Pavel Borodin (who
ran for mayor), who now sits in a jail in the United States awaiting
extradition to Switzerland. The Russian legal system never ceases to amaze.

But let's return to the more exciting subject of the money that NTV
employees received. Aside from the fact that the prosecutor's list includes
some journalists who did not work for MOST's own media — which indeed
raises questions about their integrity — it is hard to understand what has
Troshin so riled up.

During the post-Soviet period, I have worked for numerous Moscow media
outlets, including NTV in 1997 and Russian State Television, or RTR, during
the summer of 1998. Admittedly, in both cases I quit because of
disagreements over editorial policy. Moreover, I never received any loans
from anyone, much to my regret. However, I did receive salaries from both
organizations and, therefore, I know this subject very well.

In the case of NTV, I received my salary by direct deposit in my bank
account. All the proper paperwork was completed and submitted to the tax
authorities.

Russian State Television (note the word "state"!) had an entirely different
scheme. My salary came in two portions. About 10 percent of my actual
salary was paid to me directly from their cashier in rubles. The other 90
percent was not recorded anywhere and was handed to me in a plain envelope.
Repeated efforts to legalize this situation (in order not to feel like a
criminal each month) were rejected by the then RTR bosses, which included
current Press Minister Mikhail Lesin and current Culture Minister Mikhail
Shvydkoi. They simply gave me the usual reply: The company must pay a 38.8
percent (as of Jan. 1, 2001, this was reduced to 35.6 percent) tax on
employee salaries. Why give this money away? Such systems of double
accounting exist in many state and non-state companies and is certainly no
secret to anyone. Including, I imagine, the prosecutor general.

The whole system is definitely corrupt, but for journalists it is
particularly bad. Double accounting not only makes them feel like
criminals, but it seriously infringes on their independence. In my case,
when I disagreed with NTV's editors, I received all monies owed to me and
left in a civilized manner. When I left RTR, I had to walk out
empty-handed. I had no legal recourse to recover the "black" money that was
owed me.

Of course, NTV used its own strategies to avoid paying taxes, as do
virtually all businesses operating in Russia. But none of these schemes —
as opposed to RTR's secret envelopes — directly concerned and implicated
the journalists.

The RTR system (which is similar to those used by many media and non-media
companies) — which included "envelopes" for loyal employees and low
salaries for disloyal ones — had other features as well. There is a whole
price list for preparing hidden advertising with separate rate scales for a
simple story or a full interview. The prices for the latter ranged from
$10,000 to $22,000, depending on the broadcast time and channel.

NTV, to its credit, did not involve its journalists in such a system, and
journalists caught engaging in this practice were summarily dismissed. But
this didn't happen often for the simple reason that their salaries were
sufficiently high that they had little incentive to earn money on the side.
Ironically though, these journalists are now being threatened by the
prosecutor.

The message from the prosecutor and his Kremlin bosses, then, is clear
enough. Use double accounting if necessary. Use all the "envelopes" you
want. Avoid taxes. But don't put anything on paper. You'll have no problems.

Yevgenia Albats is an independent, Moscow-based journalist.

*******

#8
Trud
January 30, 2001
[translaton from RIA Novosti for personal use only]
POLL: 39% OF RUSSIANS TRUST PRESIDENT
A prominent sociological fund entitled "Public Opinion" 
continues to regularly poll Russians to record their attitude 
to various politicians. Ratings of trust and mistrust are 
probably most instrumental in assessing the actions of those 
who rule us.

Similar to the previous polls respondents were asked to 
name politicians whom they trust and mistrust. The results are 
presented in Tables 1 and 2. It was up to the respondents to 
include politicians into the rating list. They named nine 
public statesmen. As before, the Russian president came out the 
untouched leader. Some 39% of those polled approved of Putin's 
actions while just 3% expressed disapproval. The communist 
leader is the second most trusted politician. Fourteen percent 
of Russians expressed confidence in Gennady Zyuganov while 12% 
disapprove of him. Thus Zyuganov's positive balance stood at 
the low 2%.
Zhirinovsky took the third position from the top with the 
trust score of 7%. At the same time his rating of mistrust was 
the highest among the nine politicians and totaled 21%. This is 
not surprising given Zhirinovsky's unbalanced character and 
unpredictable actions that might frighten away anyone. Aman 
Tuleyev followed suit with 6%. He was the only politician on 
the list who is based outside Moscow. Russians consistently 
rated Tuleyev fourth among trusted statesmen. Furthermore, he 
scored fewer "blackballs" than his more popular opponents. The 
poll was conducted before the Kemerovo governor stepped down. 
It will be interesting to watch Russians' reaction to Tuleyev's 
unexpected move in the next poll of the Public Opinion Fund.

Table 1
Trust
---------------------------------------------------------------
Politician %
---------------------------------------------------------------
1. Putin 39%
2. Zyuganov 14%
3. Zhirinovsky 7%
4. Tuleyev 6%
5. Kasyanov 5%
6. Shoigu 5%
7. Primakov 4%
8. Yavlinsky 3%
9. Seleznev 3%
-------------------------------------------------------------

Table 2
Mistrust
--------------------------------------------------------------
Politician %
---------------------------------------------------------------
1. Putin 3%
2. Zyuganov 12%
3. Zhirinovsky 21%
4. Tuleyev 1%
5. Kasyanov 1%
6. Shoigu 1%
7. Primakov 2%
8. Yavlinsky 7%
9. Seleznev 1%

*******

#9
Financial Times (UK)
30 January 2001
Can pay, should pay
Suggestions that Russia should not meet all its sovereign debt repayments
could prove highly damaging, says Peter Aven
The writer is president of Alfa Bank. In 1991-92 he was Russia's minister
of foreign economic relations 

Vladimir Putin has given his government until the middle of next month to
mend Russia's relations with the Paris Club of sovereign creditors. These
have been tense since Mikhail Kasyanov, the prime minister, said Russia
would not "pay in full" its obligations this year. 

Mr Kasyanov has said that the Russian government cannot afford to divert
money away from social programmes. He has said that the state budget ties
the government's hands, by providing only $1bn against $3.4bn owed to the
Paris Club this year. 

Neither argument stands up to scrutiny. Russia finished last year with a
trade surplus of almost $60bn, with 7 per cent growth in gross domestic
product and a budget surplus. As for the budget restriction, the argument
here must sound a little strange to Russia's creditors. In 1998 and 1999
money was borrowed from the Central Bank for debt servicing. Parliament
will not object this time. 

Mr Kasyanov's real motives lie elsewhere. First, he is looking ahead.
Russia could fully service all its external debt this year, especially if
the current level of oil prices continues. But in 2003 more than $18bn will
fall due, which will be much more difficult, even impossible, to pay off. 

Second, Mr Kasyanov apparently thinks that threats of non-payment will help
secure better terms in any future restructuring and will make negotiations
with the International Monetary Fund easier. 

After all, in the early 1990s no debt payments were made and still the
Paris Club agreed five debt restructurings. The London Club of private
creditors wrote off two-thirds of Russia's $32bn debt. And that was when
none of the IMF-approved programmes had been implemented by Russia. 

I believe Mr Kasyanov has been wrong in his tactics and even his aims. I
doubt the necessity of debt restructuring. In practice, debt restructuring
is very expensive - for the borrower, not the lenders. In 1993, when Russia
signed its first restructuring agreement with the Paris Club, it owed
$33bn. Since then $17bn has been paid and the debt now stands at $48bn. 

So, far from seeking debt restructuring, Russia should be making payments
in advance - and for as long as high oil prices permit. The macroeconomic
benefits of such a strategy (such as avoiding an excessive appreciation of
the rouble) are another topic for discussion. 

But let us assume that the decision to restructure the debts is taken. The
tactics of the early 1990s are no longer appropriate. Back then, Russia was
considered by the west as one of the two superpowers. Like China, it was
allowed to do things denied to others. It could fail to pay its debts. It
could leave unfulfilled programmes agreed with the IMF. 

The situation looks very different today. The Soviet Union was the world's
fourth largest economy but Russia now ranks about 15th. More countries have
nuclear weapons. Most Russian reforms have not worked and most of the world
has lost confidence that they ever will. 

Confrontation can no longer be counted on to bring Russia concessions.
Instead, they are more likely to cut Russia off from international
financial markets and from foreign investment. The state budget may survive
without IMF loans but most Russian companies will suffer. In the long run
the average Russian will lose much more from this than he or she will gain
from being paid higher salaries and pensions with money that is owed to
foreign creditors. 

Russia must act as any reasonable borrower does when he is not entirely
ready to pay his creditors. It should negotiate, while meeting all possible
obligations without fail. It should deal openly, trying to find solutions
together with creditors, avoiding ultimatums. It should look for a "package
deal" - and here Mr Kasyanov is right to link restructuring to an agreement
with the IMF. 

As for Mr Kasyanov's view that his government should care more about the
opinions of voters than about Russia's reputation in the west, and so give
social expenditures priority over debt repayments, this logic is familiar
to me. 

After the Russian financial crisis in August 1998, Alfa Bank was the only
big private bank trying to fulfil all its obligations. One of our most
powerful competitors did his best to explain that we were wrong. "We are
saving our money and you are saving your reputation," he said. "In three
years' time we will see who is right." 

Strictly speaking, we still have not decided that question. The
above-mentioned banker has established a new bank. Neither Alfa Bank, nor
our competitor, has any foreign financing - and with these latest events it
is not likely to appear for a long time. 

Still, I am sure we were right. Saving one's reputation is not just
"better" in moral terms, it is strategically more efficient. Without a
solid reputation, stability is impossible - both for a private bank and for
a country. 

******* 

#10
Tatar president becomes first regional leader to seek third term

MOSCOW, Jan 30 (AFP) - 
The president of Russia's autonomous republic of Tatarstan has submitted his 
election nomination, becoming the first person to take advantage of a bill 
allowing regional leaders to seek a third term in office.

Mintimer Shaimiyev, elected the republic's president in 1991 and in 1996, 
handed over his nomination documents to the electoral commission on Monday 
and plans to submit his list of 50,000 supporting signatures by February 12.

Upon submitting his nomination, the incumbent vowed that the election, 
scheduled for March 25, would be "clean and legitimitate," the ITAR-TASS news 
agency reported.

Sixteen other candidates, including five pensioners, one unemployed person, 
the leader of the regional Communist party, several businessmen and two 
Russian deputies are expected to stand against the favourite.

Each candidate who collects the required number of signatures will be 
allotted 1,700 dollars for campaigning.

An oil-rich republic on the Volga river, Tatarstan is one of some 10 regions 
out of a total of 89 that contribute more to the federal budget than they 
receive, amounting to some 10 billion rubles (350 million dollars) in federal 
expenses in 2000.

Officially, the largely Muslim republic located some 850 kilometres (510 
miles) southeast of Moscow, comprises 51 percent Tatars, 48 percent Russians 
and a few other ethnic groups.

Shaimiyev, 64, has not been quiet about his electoral ambitions and last year 
prompted a warning from the head of Russia's central electoral commission, 
Alexander Veshnyakov, that submitting a nomination would violate the Russian 
Constitution.

Tatarstan's State Council, or parliament, tried to call early presidential 
elections in December when Shaimiyev was on vacation but the leader managed 
to revoke the decision.

However last Thursday, the Russian State Duma lower house of parliament 
passed a bill allowing regional leaders to run for a third or even fourth 
term in office.

The bill, which must still be approved by the Federation Council upper house 
in a session penned in for Wednesday, has been criticised by both liberals 
and Communist party members.

Shaimiyev's decision proves that "some regional chiefs want to be leaders for 
life," the communist speaker of the Duma Gennady Seleznyov told the RIA 
Novosti news agency.

"The person who occupies such a post for three successive terms leaves an 
empty space behind him, making the peaceful transition of power more 
difficult," he added.

"We are categorically against it. It is against the Constitution," Yabloko 
faction's deputy leader Sergei Ivanenko was quoted by the Interfax news 
agency as saying.

Ivanenko also said that passing the bill could eventually lead to the 
president being able to run for a third term.

During his election campaign last year, President Vladimir Putin suggested 
that the presidential term could be extended from four years to seven years, 
modifying the constitution which is already heavily weighted toward the 
Kremlin chief.

*******

#11
Moscow Times
January 30, 2001
Duma Mulls Letting The Regions Merge
By Ana Uzelac 
Staff Writer 

The State Duma is considering legislation that would make it possible for
any of the 89 subjects of the Russian Federation to merge with another. 

Critics accuse the Kremlin of trying to reshape the Russian map in
violation of the Constitution, but supporters in the Duma say the
legislation would not violate the Constitution and, because of built-in
safeguards, would not be likely to lead to radical change.

Under the bill, any merger would be voluntary and would have to be approved
by residents of the regions by means of a referendum. Only then could the
president ask the Duma to consider a change in the regional administrative
structure, which would have to be approved by both houses of parliament
with a two-thirds majority.

The issue of regional integration was discussed at a meeting between
President Vladimir Putin and the Duma speakers and deputy speakers earlier
this month, deputy speaker Vladimir Lukin of Yabloko said in a recent
telephone interview.

"The president was very cautious and convinced that there shouldn't be any
hasty steps in regional integration," Lukin said.

The new law could be used to resolve the contradiction in several regions
where there are autonomous districts. The districts, which are counted
among the 89 federation subjects, are at the same time equal to the region
and a part of it.

For instance, the Tyumen region has two autonomous districts —
Khanty-Mansiisk and Yamalo-Nenetsk. Both have their own legislative and
executive branches and their own budgets, but are territorially part of
Tyumen.

The situation is complicated because both autonomous districts are
incomparably richer than the southern part of Tyumen — Yamalo-Nenetsk
accounting for 90 percent of Russia's gas, and Khanty-Mansiisk for
two-thirds of Russia's oil.

Integration is seen as being more likely to appeal to the poorer districts.

Similarly, the Taimyr autonomous district, which is a part of the
Krasnoyarsk region, accounts for nearly all of the country's nickel reserves.

As a result, these three autonomous districts are the main operating base
for Norilsk Nickel, Gazprom and all major Russian oil companies.

"In many cases, these companies either influence the government or outright
rule the regions themselves," Lukin said. "And very often they don't care
about the region but only about their own swift profits."

In some of these districts, however, the living standards are higher than
elsewhere in Russia.

But if integration of these wealthier districts into the mother-region is
the aim of the presidential administration, it may be facing an uphill
battle, said Alexei Titkov, a regional policy analyst at the Moscow
Carnegie Center. 

"The draft law foresees voluntary integration, and the will of several
hundred thousand inhabitants of these sparsely populated areas can easily
be influenced by the big companies that are paying their salaries," Titkov
said.

So integration would be more likely to appeal to poorer districts, which
could gain from lowering their administrative costs, he said. "Maybe the
districts in Perm, Irkutsk or Chita would opt for integration once it
becomes possible, but hardly the ones in Tyumen or Krasnoyarsk," Titkov said.

The legislation, which passed in first reading way back in December 1999,
could come up for second reading in March, the Duma's administrative
service said. Such a law is needed because the Constitution says the number
of subjects in the Russian Federation can be increased or decreased but
there is no law spelling out how this can be done. 

Vladimir Ryzhkov, a member of the Duma committee on federal and regional
policy, said in a telephone interview that the bill is in strict accordance
with the Constitution and the complicated procedure for carrying out
mergers offers a guarantee that there will be no forced integration.

Lukin agreed: "The procedure should be complicated, but not impossible to
implement."

But even integrated regions could soon lose their importance, according to
Andrei Ryabov of the Moscow Carnegie Center, who said Putin is planning to
increase the powers of his special representatives to the seven federal
districts, further curbing the political clout of the regional rulers.

However, the Internet newspaper Gazeta.ru said Putin's plans are running
into stiff opposition from Kremlin Chief of Staff Alexander Voloshin.

Gazeta.ru, citing sources in the presidential administration, said a decree
on the powers of the representatives is expected next week, but it has been
"softened" and will do nothing more than confirm the status quo.

Another bill being considered in the Duma addresses the process by which
federation subjects can change their status — for example, from region to
republic — as allowed by the Constitution.

The bill was drafted by the Nationalities and Migration Ministry, said
Beslan Bargandzhia, the head of the ministry's legal department.

****** 

#12
From: "Matthew Maly" <maly@post.com>
Subject: Some thoughts triggered by Putin's meeting with NTV journalists 
Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 

Some thoughts triggered by Putin's meeting with NTV journalists 

Americans think that Russia is not being efficiently governed. But the
Russians think that America's inefficiencies are obvious. Here is how the
Russians are thinking: 

If I put 5 rubles on a nightstand and my wife takes 5 rubles from the
nightstand, there will be no rubles on the nightstand. This is bad: we are
working at cross-purposes and cannot save any money. But if I were to put 5
rubles and my wife were to put 5 rubles there would have been 10 rubles on
the nightstand. Everybody agrees? Now, how could there be any strengths in
the system of checks and balances? Suppose in America the state accuses a
suspect and does a lot of work to build a case against him. Suddenly, here
comes a defense attorney and starts defending the suspect! Now, no matter
who wins, fifty percent of the work is just wasted! How could that be
efficient? Both sides should just talk to the boss, and then one of the two
would not have to prepare for a trial. Or, how could there be any strength
in diversity? You have just said something, and another person stands up
and says something different. This drowns out your voice; moreover, people
may actually decide to follow the advice of this person! How could that be
efficient? I've spoken, so stand up and go do it: why waste any time? Or
take the US Presidential elections. Why could not the seven US bankers just
get together somewhere in Davos, appoint the President, even someone with a
single digit approval rating, give the money to whoever is their Chubais,
and go back to the banya in peace? Instead, Americans went through with
this silly elections show. 

President Putin may be vigorous, media savvy, German-speaking, etc., etc.,
but he actually thinks this way. He cannot conceive that free press
actually helps him to govern, he does not understand the idea that in a
free exchange of opinion people can actually arrive at a better solution,
and a better solution for all. Instead, everything that Putin is doing is
undermining his own cause: a silent Russia is even less governable than the
disorderly one. 

Clinton thinks, "If I were a President of Russia, I would have made Russia
so much more efficient!" But Putin sits at the Kremlin thinking, "If I were
a US President, I would have made the US so much more efficient! Instead of
running after Monica, I would have been on the phone with Ted Turner
discussing the editorial content." Please stop to consider this for a
minute: it really is not a joke.

There is only one (!) piece of social technology that makes Russia
drastically, fundamentally different from America. Russia simply has not
yet discovered that there could be such a thing as a win/win solution!
Russia is the world champion in the lose/lose game, and now, since the judo
master is a President, there is a "loss/Pyrrhic victory" solution, but
there still no concept of win/win.

By the way, what is democracy? Is it really about voting? Would an addict's
choice between heroin and jumping out the window be democratic? Would a
free choice between Putin and Zhirinovsky be democratic? Democracy is a
debate on how best to formulate and to achieve a win/win. Not win/lose, and
not lose/lose, but win/win. For a democracy, people must be oriented
towards a win/win solution and there must be laws in place that act as a
trigger when someone attempts a win/lose or a lose/lose. 

In the last ten years Russia has acquired all the superficial trappings of
democracy and market economy. And now we have a proof that Russia's
problems were much deeper. In sheep's clothing a wolf did not become a
sheep. It is the psychology, stupid, not loans, economic advice, or
politically correct lip service. Russia keeps choosing unanimity over
diversity and cooperation, and its "democratically elected" President has
separated the entire country into friends and foes. 

Russian governance is based on a premise that is fundamentally backward and
inadequate, and that is why Putin's Presidency will end in catastrophic
failure. The problem is that this failure will be extremely damaging to
western interests, as it is vital to the West to see Russia prosperous and
friendly, a goal we are much farther from today than we were at any time
since at least 1987. 

Matthew Maly
an unemployed American living in Moscow

I invite JRL readers to visit my website http://change-russia.newmail.ru/
The site has my Russian book, How to Make Russia a Normal Country, which
could be characterized as a democracy primer for the Russians, as well as
my two English brochures, Understanding Russia and Understanding Soviet
History. 

*******

#13
Chicago Tribune
January 29, 2001
BITTER WINTER IN RUSSIA TESTS EVEN ITS STOICS 
By Colin McMahon 
Tribune Foreign Correspondent 

KHINGANSK, Russia -- The Russian literary giant Anton Chekhov looked at 
winter this way:

"God sends us the frost as punishment. In summer we sin. In winter we whip 
ourselves."

Russia surely must have just enjoyed one scandalous summer.

The bitterest winter in 30 years, with temperatures as low as minus 60 
degrees Fahrenheit, has slammed Siberia and Russia's Far East.

Fuel shortages, governmental blundering and crumbling infrastructure have 
left tens of thousands without heat in small towns such as Khingansk and big 
cities such as Vladivostok. Even the most stoical of Russians--and stoics 
seem to dominate this part of the world--are starting to complain.

So far, the cold has cost hundreds of lives, with thousands of fingers, toes 
and limbs lost to frostbite. It has clouded sunny budget projections as 
officials scramble to find enough money to deal with the emergency.

The big freeze also has underscored the severity of problems inherited by 
Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Now enduring his first full winter in the Kremlin, Putin has promised to 
rebuild a Russia devastated by years of economic decay. But the nation's 
infrastructure is falling apart faster than it can be fixed.

Putin also has promised to bring to heel the nation's obstreperous governors.

Yet he has declined to challenge the hardest cases, such as Yevgeny 
Nazdratenko of the Primorsky region on the Pacific Coast, where thousands of 
people are shivering through another winter of blackouts, a perennial 
problem. Nazdratenko continues to eschew all blame.

"It is true that we have difficulties," Putin said, alluding to temperatures 
that have dropped to nose-numbing and throat-burning levels. "But where are 
the resources, reserves and plans for such developments?

"Are we to conclude that when the temperature falls to a certain level, we 
doom people to a slow, freezing death? Who is going to answer for the 
situation these regions find themselves in?"

So far, no one.

Local officials deny that the fault lies with their own mismanagement of 
energy supplies and failure to maintain and improve heating systems. Instead, 
they say, it has just been too cold to cope.

In Khingansk, a mining town in the Khabarovsk region by the Sea of Japan, the 
heating system froze. The problem, local officials said, was a combination of 
low water levels and several consecutive days of temperatures that dropped to 
minus 50.

The same officials acknowledge that the system was poorly maintained and that 
they ran out of money to make repairs over the summer. They blame this, in an 
excuse commonly heard across the Russian provinces, on the economic reforms 
of perestroika, on former leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin.

But for most part--despite living without heat, without water, and sometimes 
without electricity for days at a time-- the 2,400 residents of Khingansk are 
not yet climbing their frozen walls.

"We will sit in the corner and wait until they turn the power back on," said 
Olga Leontiyeva, a 50-year-old pensioner who for 15 years worked in the tin 
mill that is Khingansk's reason for existing.

Leontiyeva was bundled in two sweaters and a wool scarf wrapped around her 
head and neck.

Khingansk is a brutal spot in a region known for brutal conditions. Its 
five-story apartment buildings are typical Soviet-era blocks of steel and 
cement. The town has not had cooking gas for three years; the supply was shut 
off because too few people paid the bills. Staircases inside some buildings 
are coated with ice.

Despite this, federal officials on hand to address the heating crisis call 
the buildings "well-equipped."

So why do people continue to live here?

They don't seem to understand an outsider's fuss about the cold that included 
10 days of temperatures at minus 40 or lower.

"Special measures for the cold? A fur coat. And if it is really cold, a pair 
of mittens," said Nikolai Grudinin, who was home with his 5-year-old grandson 
in an apartment with frost on the windows and an electric heater.

When the boy crept dangerously close to the heater, a visitor moved to stop 
him. "Don't worry about it," Grudinin said. "There's no electricity anyway.

"You get used to the cold; we all get used to it here," Grudinin said. "If it 
gets up to 22 degrees [72 degrees Fahrenheit], I am already suffering. Now, 
minus 22 [minus 7 Fahrenheit], that's good weather," Grudinin said.

Indeed, many Russians in Siberia and the Far East are happiest in the middle 
of winter in their log homes. A fixture in Russia for 800 years, the izba has 
as its heart a wood-burning stove that cooks the food, heats the house and, 
on the bitterest of nights, serves as a toasty bed.

"When your little izba is warm and cozy, you don't rely on anybody," said 
Vitaly Rodyonov, an engineer who runs the city of Khabarovsk's construction 
department and as such is responsible for the city's most modern housing 
projects. "The izba is easily heated by a Russian stove. Of course, this is 
the best method of all."

For all their stoicism and their love of winter, though, Russians know the 
dangers of the cold and have taken to the streets to protest their lack of 
heat, finally persuading Putin to send one of his top aides to the Far East.

Nowhere better are the dangers of winter on display than in the burn ward of 
the central hospital in Khabarovsk. Frostbite victims sleep in the hall 
because there are too many for the rooms. Many are drunks or drug addicts or 
homeless people. But some are working folks.

Andrei Yudayev, 37, a housepainter and paperhanger, sits with his hands 
crossed. They are covered by bandages turned yellow and rust from antiseptic 
lotion and blood.

Yudayev was visiting friends one recent night and missed the last bus home. 
So he walked, without gloves, a little more than two hours in temperatures 
near minus 40.

Now Yudayev wonders if he will lose more than the three fingers that already 
have been amputated from his left hand. His hands still feel like he has 
stuck them in hot coals, he said. And when the nurses change bandages,Yudayev 
finds it impossible to view the damage.

"I'm too scared to look," he said.

*******

#14
Kazakh leader wages war on corruption and flattery
By Dmitry Solovyov

ASTANA, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev launched a 
crusade on Tuesday to improve the image of his nation, saying the corruption 
and flattery of some regional bosses damaged him and Kazakhstan in the public 
eye. 

Nazarbayev, who delivered an emotional 80-minute speech to regional heads and 
other executives, lauded the Central Asian state's 9.6 percent economic 
growth last year and said the nation of 14 million would celebrate 10 years 
of independence this year as a "fully market-oriented" society. 

But the 60-year-old veteran leader, who has run the vast and resource-rich 
country since Soviet times, said many regional and local "akims" (heads) were 
undermining the people's trust in reforms and "the numerous achievements of 
independence." 

He said that despite decrees calling for modesty by state officials, many 
akims spent outlandish sums on smart limousines and expensive refurbishments 
to their offices and dealt with dubious characters. 

"There's a mafia operating on every market, especially in Almaty and other 
big cities. Don't you know this? Of course you do!" 

He said 865 local officials were sacked last year alone for misconduct linked 
to corruption, of whom 465 got jail terms. Some officials "behaved like 
nouveau riches" on foreign trips while their home regions were still far from 
prosperous. 

Nazarbayev, who enjoys sweeping powers and tolerates little opposition, made 
clear he would no longer close his eyes to the fact that some officials were 
not loyal to him. 

"We are a unitary state with a single state policy," he said. "It is 
outrageous that some akims, when abroad, bravely bad mouth Kazakhstan in 
restaurants or private homes. If you don't like our policies, leave public 
service -- then you can criticise us." 

Nazarbayev said akims in rural areas might start being elected this year. But 
he made clear that he would not rush into electing regional heads, all of 
whom he now picks personally. 

Nazarbayev also called for an end to an often primitive campaign to promote 
him personally, saying that misquoted speeches and gaudy portraits daubed 
across the nation tarnished his image rather than bolstering it. In the past 
Nazarbayev has forbidden the rise of a personality cult. 

"I tell you for the umpteenth time -- when everything is so flattering, when 
my picture is on every billboard, it has quite the opposite effect. If you 
love me so much, please keep my photo discreetly at home," he said. 

The president, who once compared Kazakhstan to a snow leopard, said he was 
now irritated to see the revered animal on posters all across the country. He 
said a billboard seen in western Kazakhstan featured a couple of snow 
leopards with the dubious slogan, "The young of a snow leopard must be 
strong!" 

*******

#15
Yeltsin Hospitalized in Moscow
January 30, 2001

MOSCOW (AP) - Former Russian President Boris Yeltsin was rushed to a
hospital Tuesday with a high fever and a suspected viral infection - a
reminder of the health problems that plagued him during his presidency. 

Yeltsin was taken to the government's Central Clinical Hospital on the
western outskirts of Moscow with what doctors believed was an ``acute viral
infection,'' his aide Valentin Shevchenko said, according to Russian news
reports. An intensive course of treatment will take at least several days,
he said. 

Yeltsin, who turns 70 on Thursday, underwent quintuple bypass surgery in
November 1996, shortly after winning a second term. He limped from one
hospitalization to another in the years that followed - getting treatment
for ailments ranging from pneumonia to bronchitis to ulcers. Each of his
ailments caused a political crisis and sometimes triggered succession
battles. 

Yeltsin abruptly resigned on Dec. 31, 1999, six months before the end of
his term, turning power over to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and clearing
the way for Putin to win the presidency in an early election in March. 

Yeltsin has lived in seclusion at his country residence west of Moscow
since his resignation, rarely making public appearances or giving interviews. 

He publicly criticized his successor for the first time last month,
chastising Putin for restoring the music of the old Soviet anthem and for
his slow response to the Kursk nuclear submarine disaster. 

******

#16
Russian missile experts head for U.S. training

MOSCOW, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Russian missile experts left for an early warning 
command centre in the United States on Tuesday to work with U.S. specialists 
on a defence system touted by Moscow as an alternative to a full-blown U.S. 
rocket shield. Itar-Tass news agency quoted Russian Defence Ministry as 
saying that during its February 1-10 stay at the NORAD airbase in Colorado 
Springs the group would take part in a joint training programme on the use of 
non-strategic missile systems which could protect against attack by so-called 
rogue states. 

During their stay at the secrecy-shrouded North American Aerosepace Defence 
Command, the mountain base that watches out for missile attacks on North 
America, experts will also discuss the proliferation of rocket technology, 
the news agency said. 

Washington says it needs a ground-based national missile defence (NMD) shield 
to ward off possible attack from hostile states like Iraq, Iran and North 
Korea, which are developing missile and nuclear weapon technology. 

But Moscow says NMD, dubbed "son of Star Wars" in reference to a space-based 
scheme advanced under ex-President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s, would trigger 
a new arms race and destroy existing arms control accords. 

President Vladimir Putin has called on the United States to work with Russia 
to develop a non-strategic, or regional, missile defence system that would 
not undermine Moscow's deterrent. 

It would aim to shoot down rockets in their launch phase, when missiles are 
relatively slow and easy to spot, rather than seek to strike incoming 
warheads as they neared their targets. 

Many of America's NATO allies in Europe have deep misgivings about the U.S. 
plans, and have expressed an interest in Putin's alternative. 

French Defence Minister Alain Richard came to Moscow earlier this month 
looking for more details, and his German counterpart Rudolf Scharping was 
expected to raise the issue during talks in the Russian capital on Tuesday. 

*******

CDI Russia Weekly:  http://www.cdi.org/russia

Johnson's Russia List Archive (under construction):  http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson