…TAX EVASION, AGRICULTURE REMAIN MAJOR PROBLEMS.

As for economic black spots, Chernomyrdin called for a major drive to stamp out widespread tax evasion. Criticizing the Finance Ministry for failing to come up with any good ideas about improving the collection of taxes, Chernomyrdin said he was putting First Deputy Premier Vladimir Kadannikov in charge of a campaign to crackdown on fraud. Chernomyrdin criticized the slow pace of agrarian reform though here, too, he said the picture was not all black. Russia will have to import grain again this year, but the quantity will be smaller than in previous years. The prime minister called for the creation of agrarian-financial groups, cooperative banks, and credit unions to replace the state as the main source of finance for agricultural production. Chernomyrdin, who is known to favor legalizing the sale of land, said it was necessary to remove the "legal uncertainty" between the owners and users of land. In his remarks to the cabinet meeting, Yeltsin blamed parliament for failing to adopt a Land Code and said that, to plug the gap, he would soon issue a decree "resolving the issue of land." (3)

Yeltsin Advisor Previews Security Program.