YELTSIN SIGNS SECURITY SERVICE STATUTE.

Boris Yeltsin hassigned off on the statute of the Federal Security Service, Segodnyareported June 24. Under its term, the FSS is to have a staffof 76,000 and is to fight terrorism, organized crime and foreignintelligence operations on Russian soil. But one thing it hasnot done is to create an anti-terrorism group, Izvestiyacomplained June 22. The paper said that it would take the FSSfive years to do that despite the challenges of Chechnya. Andit pointedly noted that the television networks always know whereChechen leaders are but that the FSS and the Russian army do not.Meanwhile, Russian defense minister Pavel Grachev said that thefighting in Chechnya showed that the Russian army must devotemore attention to combat training and the provision of supplies,Krasnaya zvezda said June 23. But a veteran of the eliteAlfa anti-terrorist force told NTV June 25 that he was againstany effort to concentrate all anti-terrorist groups under a singlecommand.

Moscow’s Tax Concessions to Stavropol Irk Other Regions.