DUMA PASSES REFERENDUM LAW.

The Russian parliament has approved a bill that sets the rules for conducting national referenda on important issues, Moscow television reported June 21. Although the Russian constitution says that the state can conduct referenda as needed, Moscow had lacked a law to implement its provisions. The timing of the adoption of this law may give Yeltsin a way out of the current crisis by holding a referendum on his and the government’s powers, as Belarus did not long ago, or even by using it to delay elections or prolong his own stay in office, as several Central Asian presidents have done.

Lebed’s Departure Fuels Anti-Yeltsin Mood in Military.