RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 3, No. 173, 99-09-06

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RFE/RL NEWSLINE

Vol. 3, No. 173, 6 September 1999

CONTENTS

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRMAN

[02] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS ARMENIA...

[03] ...AND GEORGIA

[04] PUBLICATION OF ARMENIAN NEWSPAPER SUSPENDED...

[05] ...AS JOURNALISTS, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS PROTEST SENTENCE ON

[06] DEFEATED AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES CALL FOR REPEAT

[07] BAKU MAYOR BANS PLANNED DEMONSTRATIONS BY AZERBAIJANI

[08] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT EXHORTS FOREIGN INVESTORS

[09] KYRGYZ FORCES EXPEL SOME UZBEK GUERRILLAS...

[10] ...WHO INFORM KYRGYZ LEADERSHIP OF THEIR DEMANDS

[11] TURKMENISTAN, IRAN MOVE AHEAD ON BORDER DAM PROJECT

[12] UZBEK PRESIDENT OPENS ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY IN TASHKENT

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[13] VIOLENCE CONTINUES THROUGHOUT KOSOVA

[14] KOUCHNER CALLS ON KOSOVA CITIZENS TO 'BREAK THE LAW OF

[15] KOSOVA SERB LEADER WANTS KOUCHNER TO GO

[16] COMMANDER SAYS UCK MUST ADJUST TO PEACETIME

[17] KFOR FINDS LARGE ARMS CACHE NEAR ALBANIAN BORDER

[18] VOJVODINA LEADER CHALLENGES DRASKOVIC TO DEBATE

[19] DRASKOVIC DENIES MEETING WITH RULING PARTIES

[20] SERBIAN 'CITIZENS' PARLIAMENTS' LINK UP

[21] EU BACKING FOR OPPOSITION'S IDEALS, NOT POLITICIANS

[22] MONTENEGRO WELCOMES LIFTING OF SANCTIONS

[23] HIGH-RANKING RUSSIAN DELEGATION VISITS BELGRADE

[24] KLEIN: UN LOST NO MONEY IN BOSNIAN CORRUPTION

[25] SLOVENIAN TRUCKERS BLOCK ROADS

[26] FORMER ROMANIAN PREMIER TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT

[27] CONTROVERSIAL ROMANIAN POLITICIAN LEAVES PARTY CHAIRMANSHIP

[28] MOLDOVAN PARTY PROPOSES 'COMPROMISE' ON PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM

[29] SUSPECT IN BULGARIAN PREMIER'S MURDER EXTRADITED

[30] BULGARIAN PROSECUTOR DENIES OPPOSITION DEPUTY BEATEN IN

[C] END NOTE

[31] RUSSIA'S GOVERNORS PROVING TO BE UNPREDICTABLE POLITICAL

[A] TRANSCAUCASUS AND CENTRAL ASIA

[01] ARMENIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH MINSK GROUP CO-CHAIRMAN

Kocharian and Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian met in Yerevan

on 3 September with Carey Cavanaugh, the newly appointed U.S.

co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's

Yerevan bureau reported. Cavanaugh told journalists after

those talks that he believes the talks between Kocharian and

his Azerbaijani counterpart, Heidar Aliev, that took place in

July and August in Geneva "have shown a commitment by both

sides" to finding a solution to the deadlocked Karabakh

conflict. LF

[02] RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER VISITS ARMENIA...

arrived in Yerevan on 3 September to meet with Kocharian,

Oskanian, and Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsian. Ivanov later

positively assessed all aspects of Russian-Armenian relations

but added that "more could be done" to expand those ties,

especially in the trade and economic sphere. Ivanov also

welcomed the recent direct talks between the presidents of

Armenia and Azerbaijan as "the best way" to begin looking for

a solution to the Karabakh conflict. At the same time, he

stressed that the Minsk Group should find a way to include

representatives of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

in the peace process, according to Interfax. He argued that a

final settlement to the conflict must include guarantees of

the enclave's security and unimpeded overland communications

with Armenia but must not impinge on Azerbaijan's territorial

integrity. Ivanov handed Kocharian an invitation from Russian

President Boris Yeltsin to visit Russia, which Kocharian

accepted, Noyan Tapan reported. LF

[03] ...AND GEORGIA

with his Georgian counterpart, Irakli Menagharishvili,

parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania, and Georgian President

Eduard Shevardnadze. All three Georgian officials agreed with

Ivanov's assessment that the present state of bilateral

relations is unsatisfactory. Revaz Adamia, chairman of the

parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security, told

Interfax on 5 September that while Ivanov's visit was "very

important," it failed to resolve serious differences between

Moscow and Tbilisi. Zhvania told Ivanov that Georgia wants

the Russian military presence in Georgia reduced in line with

the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, while Ivanov

advocated raising the level of bilateral military cooperation

to that between Russia and Armenia, according to Caucasus

Press. Ivanov assured Shevardnadze of Russia's willingness to

play a more active role in resolving the Abkhaz conflict. But

Ivanov later told journalists that Moscow considers

unacceptable any "peace enforcement" operation in Abkhazia

comparable to that in Kosova, Interfax reported. Shevardnadze

has repeatedly called for such intervention. LF

[04] PUBLICATION OF ARMENIAN NEWSPAPER SUSPENDED...

Pashinian, editor of the newspaper "Oragir" and its

successor, "Haykakan zhamanak," told RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau

that Armenia's main publishing house had informed him that

the 4 September issue of "Haykakan zhamanak" would not be

printed because of a paper shortage. On 31 August, a Yerevan

district court sentenced Pashinian to one year in jail on

charges of obstructing the police, refusing to print a

refutation of materials published in "Oragir," and slander

(see "RFE/RL Newsline," 1 and 2 September 1999). LF

[05] ...AS JOURNALISTS, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS PROTEST SENTENCE ON

Some 50 journalists and human rights activists staged

a silent protest close to the presidential palace in Yerevan

on 3 September against the jail sentence handed down to

Pashinian, Noyan Tapan and RFE/RL's Yerevan bureau reported.

The protesters termed the sentencing a threat to freedom of

speech in Armenia. Meeting with the protesters, President

Kocharian declined to condemn the verdict or to interfere in

the workings of the judiciary. Kocharian suggested that

Pashinian should apologize to the persons, including National

Security Minister Serzh Sarkisian, who had brought lawsuits

against him. Pashinian later said he sees no reason why he

should do so. LF

[06] DEFEATED AZERBAIJANI PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES CALL FOR REPEAT

Etibar Mamedov, Nizami Suleymanov, and Ashraf

Mehtiev issued a joint statement in Baku on 4 September

calling on the UN and all international organizations to

withdraw their recognition of the validity of the October

1998 Azerbaijani presidential election results, Turan

reported. The three opposition party leaders called for

repeat elections to be held under UN supervision and argued

that criminal proceedings should be brought against Central

Electoral Commission chairman Djafar Veliev. They claim that

Veliev himself admitted that the poll outcome was falsified.

The Central Electoral Commission has denied that charge (see

"RFE/RL Newsline," 25 August 1999). LF

[07] BAKU MAYOR BANS PLANNED DEMONSTRATIONS BY AZERBAIJANI

Rafael Allakhverdiev has issued a decree

prohibiting mass political demonstrations in the Azerbaijani

capital between 10-20 September, Turan reported on 3

September. The decree invoked the law on freedom of meetings,

which allows for such a ban during international events in

the capital. Baku is to host a celebration to mark the

signing in September 1994 of the first major oil contract

with Western companies. The 23 political parties aligned in

the Movement for Democracy had planned to begin mass actions

in Baku on 10 September to protest what they term President

Aliev's "defeatist" Karabakh policy. LF

[08] KAZAKHSTAN'S PRESIDENT EXHORTS FOREIGN INVESTORS

a celebration in Atyrau on 3 September to mark the centenary

of Kazakhstan's oil industry, President Nursultan Nazarbaev

called upon international investors to respect their

commitments to specific projects, Interfax reported.

Nazarbaev also invited international investment in pipeline

projects to export Kazakhstan's oil, terming the Caspian

Pipeline Consortium "Kazakhstan's first hope." CPC Director

Viktor Fedotov said that the pipeline, which runs from Tengiz

to Novorossiisk, will be completed, as planned, by 30 June

2001. Nazarbaev also said that Moscow and Astana are close to

agreement on increasing the annual throughput capacity of the

Atyrau-Samara pipeline from 10 million to 15 million tons. He

added that Russia and Kazakhstan are also discussing a

project to export Kazakh oil via Baltic ports. LF

[09] KYRGYZ FORCES EXPEL SOME UZBEK GUERRILLAS...

Djanuzakov, who heads the Defense and Security department

within the Kyrgyz Presidential Administration, told

journalists in Bishkek on 4 September that earlier that day,

Kyrgyz government troops succeeded in dislodging a group of

ethnic Uzbek guerrillas from the Chon-Alai Raion of Osh

Oblast, RFE/RL's bureau in the Kyrgyz capital reported. The

militants crossed into the Djirgatal district of neighboring

Tajikistan, taking five Kyrgyz policemen whom they had seized

two weeks earlier, Djanuzakov added. He said the militants

have also surrendered control of two villages in Batken

Raion, leaving only one village there held by 400 guerrillas.

That group is still holding hostage four Japanese geologists

and a Kyrgyz Interior Ministry general. LF

[10] ...WHO INFORM KYRGYZ LEADERSHIP OF THEIR DEMANDS

faxed their demands to the Kyrgyz leadership on 3 September,

RFE/RL's Bishkek bureau reported the next day, citing the

presidential press service. In that message, which was

written in Russian, Zubair ibn Abdurrakim, chairman of the

political council of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan,

announced the beginning of a "Holy War" against Uzbekistan

with the aim of forcing the release of 50,000 Muslims held in

Uzbek prisons and the reopening of thousands of mosques and

religious training institutions. The statement calls on

Bishkek to allow the guerrillas to proceed unimpeded to

Uzbekistan and not to abet the Uzbek authorities or hand over

to "[Uzbek President Islam] Karimov's executioners" Uzbeks

who fled to Kyrgyzstan to escape persecution. The statement

threatened to launch a holy war against the Kyrgyz leadership

should it fail to comply with those demands. LF

[11] TURKMENISTAN, IRAN MOVE AHEAD ON BORDER DAM PROJECT

talks in Ashgabat last week, Turkmen government and Iranian

energy officials approved a feasibility study and reached

agreement on financing construction of a reservoir and dam on

the Tedzhen River, which marks the border between the two

countries, ITAR-TASS reported on 3 September. The two

countries will contribute equally to the estimated $167

million project, which they first agreed on in May 1996. The

reservoir will have a capacity of 1.2 billion cubic meters,

making it possible to irrigate some 20,000 hectares of land

on each side of the border, according to Interfax. LF

[12] UZBEK PRESIDENT OPENS ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY IN TASHKENT

Karimov attended the opening ceremony on 3 September of the

Tashkent Islamic University, which was established under a

presidential decree, Interfax reported. Karimov said that the

university will teach the history and philosophy of Islam,

Islamic law, economy, and natural sciences, noting that

instruction will be based "on original sources handed down

from [our] ancestors." Karimov added that inadequate

knowledge of Islam "results in delusions among young people

and tragic consequences." LF

[B] SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE

[13] VIOLENCE CONTINUES THROUGHOUT KOSOVA

fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a truck on a road near

Mitrovica on 5 September, killing the ethnic Albanian driver

and injuring a woman, AP reported. The previous day,

attackers fired a similar grenade at a city bus near Gjilan,

injuring two ethnic Albanians. Unidentified people killed

three Serbs in the village of Musutisht, near Prishtina. In

Peja, unidentified attackers fired anti-tank rockets at the

building of the Serbian Orthodox Patriarchate but missed

their target. In Dobrotin, south of Prishtina, other

unidentified persons fired seven mortar rounds into an

unspecified neighborhood. On 3 September, a young ethnic Serb

was killed in an explosion in Prishtina, while five ethnic

Albanians, including three children, were injured in the

apparent attack. The Serb who died was known locally for his

good relations with ethnic Albanians, Reuters reported. FS

[14] KOUCHNER CALLS ON KOSOVA CITIZENS TO 'BREAK THE LAW OF

UN Special Representative Bernard Kouchner said in

Prishtina on 4 September that "we will not accept the return

of blind violence against innocent people." He called on all

citizens to "break the law of silence" by coming forward with

information leading to the arrest of criminals. General Agim

Ceku, who heads the Kosova Liberation Army's (UCK) General

Staff, also condemned the attack in Prishtina, Reuters

reported. FS

[15] KOSOVA SERB LEADER WANTS KOUCHNER TO GO

told the Belgrade daily "Blic" of 5 September that Kouchner

should leave Kosova. Trajkovic, who along with Serbian

Orthodox Archbishop Artemije is one of the top leaders of

Kosova's Serbian minority, said Kouchner's unspecified

"conduct and decisions excluded the Serbian side from any

form of cooperation and joint work," AP reported. Trajkovic

did not say whether he will withdraw from Kouchner's civilian

advisory council. PM

[16] COMMANDER SAYS UCK MUST ADJUST TO PEACETIME

told 3,000 mourners in Negrovc on 5 September that "we have

finished our first mission, the liberation of Kosova. Our

second mission is for life in freedom and for the

independence of Kosova, but now we must bring ourselves into

line with new [peacetime] conditions," AP reported. He was

speaking at a graveside reburial ceremony for 34 civilians

and 17 UCK fighters killed during the recent conflict. In

Washington, Senator Joseph Biden said that KFOR and the UCK

are close to a "face-saving" agreement that will transform

the guerrillas into a civilian service organization, AP

reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 3 September 1999). PM

[17] KFOR FINDS LARGE ARMS CACHE NEAR ALBANIAN BORDER

soldiers found an arms cache containing 250 Kalashnikov

rifles, 50 heavy machine guns, as well as other arms and

ammunition near Rogova on 3 September, AP reported. The

village is located about 10 kilometers from the Albanian

border. A KFOR spokesman did not disclose details about the

origin of the weapons. FS

[18] VOJVODINA LEADER CHALLENGES DRASKOVIC TO DEBATE

who heads the League of Social Democrats of Vojvodina (LSV),

said in Novi Sad that he wants to debate with Serbian Renewal

Movement leader Vuk Draskovic on television, "Danas" reported

on 6 September. Canak said that Draskovic has frequently made

unsubstantiated charges against an alliance of opposition

parties to which the LSV belongs. Canak called for the debate

to take place on Studio B Television, "which is the only open

and independent" television station. That station belongs to

Draskovic. PM

[19] DRASKOVIC DENIES MEETING WITH RULING PARTIES

in Kragujevac that he has not met recently with any

representatives of the ruling parties, "Danas" reported on 6

September. He said that unspecified charges that he has met

with officials close to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic

are aimed at discrediting the opposition. Such charges, he

added, only serve the interests of the regime. Observers note

that many opposition supporters suspect that Draskovic has

struck a secret agreement with Milosevic to support early

elections. Most opposition parties oppose elections as long

as Milosevic remains in power. PM

[20] SERBIAN 'CITIZENS' PARLIAMENTS' LINK UP

at least nine self-declared opposition "popular assemblies"

from different parts of Serbia held the first meeting of the

Citizens' Parliament of Serbia in Cacak on 4 September, the

Frankfurt-based Serbian daily "Vesti" reported. The new body

will work to promote human rights and aid victims of

repression. Spokesman Nebojsa Popov said that the new

organization "is not a forum that passes resolutions and

laws, nor is it a substitute for political parities, NGOs,

local governments, or coordinating bodies. [Instead,] the

Citizens' Parliament is the embryo of the most important

democratic institution, namely the public." PM

[21] EU BACKING FOR OPPOSITION'S IDEALS, NOT POLITICIANS

foreign ministers agreed in Saariselka, Finland, on 4

September to support "the democratic values [that the Serbian

opposition] represents," Finland's Tarja Halonen said. She

stressed, however, that the EU does not support individual

opposition politicians. She added that "elections in the

present unsatisfactory conditions will not necessarily change

anything" in Serbia. The ministers agreed on a document that

encourages "constructive dialogue between Serbia and

Montenegro" and does not endorse Montenegrin independence.

Prior to the meeting, the EU lifted the embargo on oil

deliveries and commercial flights to Montenegro and Kosova.

All sanctions on Serbia remain in place. Germany's Joschka

Fischer said in Saariselka: "As long as murderers are in

power in Belgrade, how can there be a dialogue? The longer

Milosevic remains in power, the more damage he will leave

behind," AP reported. PM

[22] MONTENEGRO WELCOMES LIFTING OF SANCTIONS

Vojin Djukanovic told "Vesti" of 6 September that the lifting

of sanctions will mean "fewer problems" for Montenegro. He

called the EU's decision a vindication for Montenegro's

policies. Djukanovic added that the decision is also a rebuke

to Milosevic and his allies in Montenegro. PM

[23] HIGH-RANKING RUSSIAN DELEGATION VISITS BELGRADE

government delegation, headed by Deputy Prime Minister

Aleksandr Avdeev and senior diplomat Boris Mayorskii, arrived

in Belgrade on 5 September, AP reported. Avdeev and Mayorskii

have scheduled talks with government officials and opposition

leaders. Unidentified diplomatic sources told Interfax that

the two will meet with Milosevic and unspecified "warlords."

They also plan to hold talks with Draskovic and have a

telephone conversation with Montenegrin President Milo

Djukanovic. Avdeev and Mayorskii do not plan to visit Kosova.

FS

[24] KLEIN: UN LOST NO MONEY IN BOSNIAN CORRUPTION

who is the UN's chief representative in Bosnia, said in

Sarajevo on 5 September that the world organization did not

lose any money in a recent Bosnian banking scandal (see

"RFE/RL Bosnian Report," 24 August 1999). He stressed that

the UN's bank is in New York and that UN agencies working in

Bosnia closely monitor their finances, RFE/RL's South Slavic

Service reported. Elsewhere, World Bank President James

Wolfensohn sent a letter to the Bosnian government saying

that the bank's programs will continue to stress the return

of refugees to their former homes. PM

[25] SLOVENIAN TRUCKERS BLOCK ROADS

blocked roads linking Ljubljana with Koper, Nova Gorica, and

Maribor on 6 September. They demand back wages and improved

working conditions. The drivers also want the government to

take measures to end what they call corruption in issuing

permits to take goods abroad, AP reported. PM

[26] FORMER ROMANIAN PREMIER TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT

chairman of the Christian Democratic National Alliance

(ANCD), announced on 4 September that he will run for

president in 2000, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. He

said the decision was taken earlier by his party's National

Executive Bureau and will be submitted to the ANCD congress

in November. MS

[27] CONTROVERSIAL ROMANIAN POLITICIAN LEAVES PARTY CHAIRMANSHIP

from the position of National Romanian Party (PNR) chairman.

Catarama said his decision was prompted by the desire to

avoid "tarnishing" the party's image in the wake of the

developments surrounding the Elvila International company,

which he heads. Elvila International failed to pay back loans

granted by the recently liquidated Bancorex. Former Romanian

Intelligence service chief Virgil Magureanu has been

appointed acting PNR chairman. Magureanu said he will not run

for the chairmanship at the extraordinary PNR congress that

will be called to elect a new party leader. Meanwhile, PNR

leader Ion Menciu was detained a few days earlier under

suspicion of participating in an arms-smuggling ring led by

Shimon Naor, an Israeli businessman of Romanian origin. MS

[28] MOLDOVAN PARTY PROPOSES 'COMPROMISE' ON PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM

Moldova Bloc (PMDP) has proposed a "compromise" between

introducing a presidential system, as intended by President

Petru Lucinschi, and a parliamentary system, as advocated by

Lucinschi's opponents. Under the PMDP's proposal, which was

made public on 3 September, the president would be granted

the power to appoint the ministers of foreign affairs,

interior, and defense. The procedure for dissolving the

parliament would be simplified and new elections called

within 40 days, instead of three months, as is currently

stipulated. At the same time, the proposal includes some

measures aimed at strengthening the role of the legislature

and the government vis-a-vis the president, RFE/RL's Chisinau

bureau reported. MS

[29] SUSPECT IN BULGARIAN PREMIER'S MURDER EXTRADITED

businessman Angel Vasilev, who is suspected of having ordered

the murder of former Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov in October

1996, was extradited from the Czech Republic on 3 September,

BTA and CTK reported (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 16 August 1999).

AFP cited the Bulgarian daily "Standart" as reporting that

Vasiliev is suspected of having hired Lukanov's assassins for

$100,000. Vasiliev's construction company was part of the

Orion group, which Bulgarian prosecutors suspect of having

misappropriated funds from several banks. In 1996, Lukanov,

who had been premier for six months in 1990, denounced his

own Socialist Party in the parliament for giving Orion

preferential treatment in contracts. At that time, Orion was

close to then Premier Zhan Videnov. Vasiliev left Bulgaria in

1998, after his company ran up a $5.6 million debt to a bank

that later went bankrupt. MS

[30] BULGARIAN PROSECUTOR DENIES OPPOSITION DEPUTY BEATEN IN

Hristo Angelov has denied that Euro-Left deputy

Tsvetelin Kanchev was beaten up by police in his Sofia prison

cell. Angelov told Bulgarian Radio on 3 September that

Kanchev mutilated himself while in custody and was taken to a

military hospital, where doctors established that he did not

require treatment. Kanchev's parliamentary immunity was

lifted in late July on suspicion of extortion, robbery, and

battery (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 2 August 1999). Euro-Left

deputy Georgi Dilkov-Lorda earlier told BTA that Kanchev had

been badly beaten and that medical experts suspect brain

concussion and groin injury. MS

[C] END NOTE

[31] RUSSIA'S GOVERNORS PROVING TO BE UNPREDICTABLE POLITICAL

by Sophie Lambroschini

The 29 August gubernatorial ballot in Sverdlovsk

highlights the growing influence of regions in Russian

politics and shows how unpredictable those politics can be.

It was no surprise that Eduard Rossel, one of Russia's

best-known governors since he promoted an independent Urals

republic in 1993, won the first round and stands a good

chance of winning the run-off later this month.

What was surprising, though, was the relatively poor

showing of Yekaterinburg Mayor Arkadii Chernetskii. Despite

support from the powerful Our Fatherland-Russia alliance,

Chernetskii came in only third.

Nikolai Petrov, an analyst with the Moscow-based

Carnegie Fund, says support from Moscow-based parties is not

enough to guarantee victory in regional elections. He told

RFE/RL that "more and more, the regions are evolving

according to a separate logic, where ideology doesn't play

much of a role." He says increasingly voters are looking to

regional leaders as "do-ers," as opposed to Moscow

politicians, who just talk.

Regional expert Jean-Robert Raviot of the French

Foundation for Political Sciences says voters take into

account what works around them--schools, transport, and other

infrastructure--when they make a decision. These things, he

says, are more dependent on local authorities. He says that

voters also notice when pensions are not paid on time, for

which the federation has to assume responsibility. As

December's parliamentary elections approach, politicians at

all levels, including the Kremlin, are looking at how best to

organize themselves. However, it is uncertain whether they

are taking into consideration the unpredictability of

regional voting.

Political alliances have recently been formed. Tatarstan

President Mintimer Shaimiev's All Russia includes Saint

Petersburg Mayor Vladimir Yakovlev, Ingush President Ruslan

Aushev, as well as leaders from Bashkortostan and Primore.

All Russia recently hooked up with Moscow Mayor Yurii

Luzhkov's Fatherland, when it became clear that former Prime

Minister Yevgenii Primakov would support the union. The

alliance is widely predicted to do well in the parliamentary

election.

A rival group has not fared as well. Samara Governor

Konstantin Titov's Voice of Russia, reportedly encouraged by

the Kremlin, has fallen to pieces.

According to Russian media reports, former Prime

Minister Sergei Stepashin's last tour in the Volga region a

few days before his sacking and new Prime Minister Vladimir

Putin's trip to Siberia shortly after taking office were

last-ditch efforts by the Kremlin to convince governors to

support Kremlin-backed candidates.

"Nezavisimaya gazeta" reports that governors are looking

beyond the era of President Boris Yeltsin. They want a

presidential candidate who can guarantee their powers and

independence. But since none of the main candidates (all of

whom are from Moscow) supports regional independence, the

governors decided to choose candidates of their own. However,

they seemed to have failed in that effort.

Russia's regional leaders first asserted themselves last

April when the Federation Council (which groups governors and

heads of regional legislative assemblies) twice refused to

dismiss Prosecutor-General Yurii Skuratov, as ordered by the

Kremlin.

After the vote, Krasnoyarsk Governor Aleksandr Lebed

famously announced that the independent stance had led to the

"collapse" of presidential power.

Such a slap in the Kremlin's face would have been

unthinkable a year earlier. The upper house, comprised of

many Yeltsin appointees, was conceived as a counter-weight to

the unruly opposition Duma.

Raviot says the growing independence of the Federation

Council is explained by the fact that governors are no longer

appointed but have been elected. He notes it has taken the

governors some time to define their powers and policies--many

of which conflict with those of the center.

Also, last year's economic crisis may have propelled the

governors toward more autonomous positions. Caught in

financial and political turmoil, the center de facto

transferred many federal powers to the governors. Several

regions, such as Krasnoyarsk and Krasnodar, experimented with

highly interventionist methods to stabilize their economies.

Analysts note that the main lesson that Moscow political

parties and the Kremlin should remember when lobbying

regional leaders is their overwhelmingly pragmatic approach.

Oksana Orecheva at the East-West Institute's Moscow

branch says that governors will make political decisions

while disregarding ideology. The main tactic of governors,

she argues, is to gain influence for their regions in the

State Duma. Oeretcheva notes that in Sverdlovsk, the governor

ran as an independent and the Yekaterinburg mayor as a

Luzhkov ally (similar configurations are evident in other

regions). That way in December, the region is bound not to

lose, she argues.

06-09-99

Reprinted with permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
URL: http://www.rferl.org

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