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GOVERNMENT ACCUSES GOVERNORS OVER USE OF
FEDERAL FUNDS...
In an interview with "Vremya MN" on 16
November, Deputy Finance Minister Tatyana Nesterenko
charged regional governors with failing to pass on federal
monies transferred to them for wages and then blaming the
federal government for mounting arrears. In "Literaturnaya
gazeta" on 11 November, sociologist Olga Krishtanovskaya
suggested the center no longer has a foolproof means of
controlling regional elites because if they try to punish an
"impertinent governor" by delaying federal allotments,
then the governor can make speeches blaming Moscow for
poor local living conditions. On the other hand, she noted
that the federal government has managed to keep the
nation's most economically powerful regions, such as
Khanty-Mansiysk and Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrugs,
"politically weak" by "doing everything in its power to
promote mediocre regional politicians." She added that
regional elections are fast becoming "a formality" since
more and more governors win elections with 80-90 percent
of the vote. JAC
...WHILE KALMYKIA'S LEADER THREATENS CENTER
President of the Republic of Kalmykia Kirsan Ilyumzhinov
told Russian Public Television (ORT) on 17 November that
because of the failure of Moscow to send money to
Kalmykia, the republic's leadership is forced to consider
itself "de facto, outside of the Russian federation." He
added that "of course, we want to remain in Russia...but we
have been put in such a position that we are ready to
consider this question." He added that Kalmykia will no
longer transfer taxes to the federal budget. The next day,
Ilyumzhinov told Interfax that Russia is showing signs of a
federative crisis" that may lead to its breakup. Russian
President Boris Yeltsin instructed the Security Council to
review whether Ilyumzhinov's latest statements are
consistent with the Russian Constitution, Interfax
reported. JAC
18-06-98
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