RUSSIA MARKS CONSTITUTION DAY, CHECHNYA THE ANNIVERSARY OF RUSSIA’S INVASION "TO RESTORE CONSTITUTIONAL ORDER."

Today is Constitution Day, a national holiday in Russia. President Boris Yeltsin proclaimed yesterday in an address to the nation that Russia’s three-year-old constitution has stood the test of time and that, the predictions of doomsayers notwithstanding, presidential and parliamentary elections took place in Russia according to schedule and the losing side recognized their validity. "The constitution triumphed. Even those who do not like the constitution propose to change it only by constitutional means." This proves, Yeltsin concluded, "that the changes that have begun in the country are irreversible." (Itar-Tass, December 11)

But Yeltsin’s address was issued in written form and received scant coverage in the mass media. Last night’s Russian TV news concentrated instead on a day-long mass meeting held yesterday in the central square of Grozny that marked the second anniversary of Russia’s military intervention in Chechnya. Yeltsin’s address did not refer to the fact that federal troops were ordered into Chechnya in December 1994 to "restore constitutional order." Nor was Russian TV’s coverage very enlightening. The newsreader explained that, since all the speakers at the rally spoke in Chechen, "it’s hard to tell you precisely what they said," except that the words "Djokhar," "Islam," and "Chechens" predominated. (RTR, December 11)

European Union to Protest New Russian Transport Tax.