EVER MORE RUSSIANS ARE MISSING PERSONS.

The authorities lack the resources to follow up on the 21,000 people now registeredas missing by their families or workplaces, Trud reportedAugust 23. "Why are a lot of people missing in a time ofpeace?" the article asked rhetorically and answered: "Thefact is that actually we are not living in a time a peace." Many of those missing the article suggested had been killedby criminals who wanted their apartments or other goods. Meanwhile,however, Russian demographers told Sovetskaya RossiyaAugust 24 that the Russian population will decline by a totalof 19.5 million over the next ten years. Some of these losses will reflect increases in crime, but most are the product ofpoor nutrition, accidents, and a dramatically falling birth rate.

Kontinent Sees Russia Threatened On All Sides.