CHERNOMYRDIN TAKEN SICK.

Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin failed today to attend a meeting of the government which he had been due to chair; his place was taken by First Deputy Premier Anatoly Chubais. According to unconfirmed reports, Chernomyrdin has been taken to the Barvikha sanitarium near Moscow, the same facility at which Yeltsin was treated when he went down with a viral infection at the end of last year. (BBC World Service, January 15)

Russian Parliament Reconvenes; Yeltsin’s Schedule Is Outlined.