SARATOV ESTABLISHES SECURITY COUNCIL.

The governor of Saratov oblast, Dmitri Ayatskov, has become the first of Russia’s regional leaders to set up a Security Council in his region. (Itar-Tass, December 3) The council, modeled on the national agency, will be responsible for protecting human rights, state, economic and ecological security, and for forecasting and coping with emergency situations. Police Col. Aleksandr Kosygin, former regional police chief, is to be Security Council secretary. Earlier this year, Governor Ayatskov reorganized the regional administration and renamed it the Government of Saratov.

Russian Duma to Examine Tax Laws.