DUMA CAMPAIGN "OFFICIALLY" BEGINS.

On August22, Rossiiskaya gazeta published the law on electoral districtsand thus opened the Duma election campaign "officially,"Russian television reported. In fact, the campaign has been goingon for some weeks and continues to expand in intensity, with candidatesmaking speeches throughout the country and the more than 250 politicalgroups qualified to nominate candidates seeking alliances. Onenew alliance announced August 22 will include the trade unionswho have decided not to back Duma speaker Ivan Rybkin’s electoralbloc. Meanwhile, charges that the Central Election Commissionis using its powers to draw electoral districts to benefit thegovernment party of Premier Viktor Chernomyrdin continue to increase.Vek reported in its August 18-24 issue that unless "almosta million insane people have appeared in the country within 20months," the current numbers of voters in the districts theCEC has sketched out do not add up.

Agents Arrest Man Hiding Radioactive Cobalt.