DUMA MEMBERS DENOUNCE GOVERNMENT’S PENSION PLAN.

Duma laborcommittee chairman Sergei Kalashnikov and several of his colleaguesdenounced the government’s plans to reform the country’s pensionsystem, Segodnya reported August 23. Kalashnikov said hewas especially concerned that the basic pension was not keyedto be at least at the level of the estimated subsistence wageand that it would be paid out of a special pension fund ratherthan by the government’s general budget.

Estonian President Criticizes Group Approach To NATO Expansion.