LATVIA THREATENED BY RUSSIAN DUMA.

Russia’s Duma on October 4 adopted by 258 votes to 0 a special resolution calling for economic sanctions against Latvia in order to effect a "radical improvement in the situation of Russian-speakers." The Duma charged that the Latvian parliament’s August 22 declaration on the Soviet occupation of Latvia (see Monitor, August 23 and 26) reflected Latvia’s "nationalist ambitions" and "crudely distorted the truth about Latvia’s entry into the Soviet Union" in order to justify "discrimination against Russian-speakers." (Itar-Tass, October 4) Russia’s executive branch has previously ignored such appeals, although some Foreign Ministry and presidential officials have occasionally intimated that they may lend an ear to calls for sanctions against Estonia and Latvia. The fact that there were no votes against the resolution shows that the minority of pro-government and democratic deputies, who probably disagree with such resolutions, lack the resolve to swim against the nationalist-Communist current.

AZERBAIJAN RATIFIES SHAH-DENIZ CONTRACT.