NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL

has issued a lengthy "concept paper" that Boris Yeltsin approved in late December. The paper, which is neither startling nor bland, provides a coherent view of Russia in the world to assist in strategic planning. Its fundamental thesis is that Russia faces no immediate danger of large-scale aggression from abroad. The greatest threats to national security are therefore internal: economic stagnation and deterioration, ethnic strife, and an erosion of public order. The paper suggests that today’s benign international climate means Russia can shift resources from defense to economic expansion. That shift, say the authors, must take place in a democratic and free-market environment.