STROYEV ASKS FOR SPECIAL RIGHTS FOR "RUSSIAN SPEAKERS" IN CIS COUNTRIES.

The new chairman of Russia’s Federation Council and of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly, Yegor Stroyev, yesterday urged CIS countries to move faster in adopting special laws on the "rights of Russian speakers" and the acquisition of dual citizenship by this part of their populations. At a meeting with the Moscow ambassadors of CIS member countries, Stroyev also called for accelerated economic integration of the CIS countries in order to face western economic competition with joint forces. (11) The "special rights," including official or "state" status for the Russian language, have figured prominently on the agenda of Russia’s Foreign Ministry and the legislative branch in their relations with CIS countries almost since the organization’s inception. Russian officials tend to use the terms "ethnic Russians" and "Russian speakers" interchangeably, although the latter category is substantially broader than the former. Only Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have enabled Russians settled on their territories to hold Russian citizenship in addition to citizenship of their