RUSSIAN MILITARY BUYING FOOD NOT WEAPONS.

The cash crunch in the military has forced the army to stop spending money on arms purchases and research in order to be able to feed its troops, Duma defense committee chairman Aleksandr Piskunov told Krasnaya zvezda June 10. The government has failed to provide the army with budgeted funds, and the army is currently spending approximately 30 percent more than even the budget anticipated. That will force the Duma to pass supplemental legislation later this year, Piskunov said, a step that would also bust current budget deficit estimates. Not surprisingly, given these difficulties, draft resistance continues to rise. In Ryazan, Patriot (no. 23) reported, 70 percent of those called for service in the last year had refused to show up; and few draft evaders are being prosecuted, the paper said.

Federation Council Rejects Election Compromise.