NEW BUDGET INCREASES MILITARY EXPENDITURES BY 50 PERCENT.

Underthe terms of the draft 1996 state budget, Moscow will spend 76trillion rubles on defense, up from 50 trillion this year. Asannounced in the Russian media July 5, the budget deficit willbe 85 trillion rubles, or 4 percent of GDP, and will be financedby domestic borrowing and assistance from abroad. But commentatorswere quick to point out that this document has little meaning:1996 will be an election year, and the Russian government hasseldom lived within the terms of its budget.

Gore-Chernomyrdin Meetings Seen Stabilizing US-Russian Relations.