FINANCE MINISTRY SECRETIVENESS CRITICIZED.

Neither parliamentarians nor thepublic nor Western creditors really know what the 1995 Russian budget deficitis likely to be, Segodnya said May 16. The paper noted that the governmentwould spend more on state investments than it has announced, althoughSegodnya suggested that “no one knows” where this money is going. And thepaper suggested that no one in Moscow really knew how much the Chechen warwas going to cost.

Tax Collections Improved.