Russian counterfeiters are becoming everbolder, Moskovsky komsomolets said May 16. They have released copies of the100,000 ruble note even before the government put the genuine article intocirculation. Tariff Increases Likely To Fuel Inflation.

Moscow's new higher tariffs onconsumer goods will push prices up across the board, Kommersant-daily saidMay 16. That is because Russian producers will raise their prices to followthose of the popular Western imports. Another Law That Won't Be Obeyed.

The recently Duma-passed and Yeltsin-signedlaw that calls for paying Russian citizens for the losses they sustained intheir savings accounts as a result of earlier massive inflation will not beimplemented, Segodnya reported May 16. The paper said that the indexing ofsavings outlined in the law would... MORE

Russian energy officials said that Russiawould expand its production of natural gas over the next 15 years to 750 to850 billion cubic meters a year, Moscow radio reported May 15. As a result,gas will provide almost 50% of the country's energy needs, up from 40%... MORE

Russian environmentalists charged May 16 inMoskovskaya pravda that Western countries are dumping various kinds of wasteinto the Russian Federation. The activists said this was happening becauseMoscow had failed to adopt the necessary legislation to prevent it andbecause the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations was all... MORE

For the first time since Gorbachev came topower, the ozone hole over Siberia has shrunk dramatically, Ogonek (no. 19)reported. The hole is less than half the size it was a year ago. No Glasnost For Duma Debates On Military Draft.

Duma members have been unableto secure the necessary support to publish their recent "secret" debates onthe military draft, Moskovsky komsomolets reported May 14. The paper saidthat the small group of deputies who wanted to take this step were opposed bya larger number of those who... MORE

Yegor Ligachev, the Politburo member manybelieve was behind the 1986 anti-alcohol campaign, wants a new crackdown onalcohol consumption, Pravda reported May 16. The former party chieftain saidRussians must "sober up" if the economy is to be turned around. Ligachev madethese remarks last weekend at a... MORE

During a state visit toHelsinki, Lennart Meri said that all Western countries must defend theirprinciples by speaking out against Moscow's new assertiveness, BNS reportedMay 16. Meri said that both Finland and Estonia had suffered from"bargaining" on principles in the past. As a result, they must... MORE

Although Yeltsin has disbandedthe Russian delegations that had been talking with the Baltic governments,Riga has decided to set up a special working group for discussions withMoscow on border issues, BNS reported May 16. The news service also reportedthat the Latvian parliament had agreed to new... MORE