YELTSIN CONGRATULATES RUSSIANS ON NATIONAL HOLIDAY.

Yesterday was a public holiday in Russia, the seventh anniversary of the country’s declaration of state sovereignty. President Boris Yeltsin marked the occasion with a public radio address. In the seven years that have passed since 1990, Yeltsin said, Russians have chosen freedom and democracy and "repeatedly reaffirmed our choice." After years of seclusion, Yeltsin went on, Russia is now a stable country, founded on the rule of law and with an open market economy. Russia’s authority is now recognized by the rest of the world, for the first time since the 1917 Revolution, not because of the "fear of being buried under the Empire’s splinters" but because Russia is open to the world and threatens nobody. Because of this, Yeltsin concluded, "the Group of Seven industrialized countries will next week take a step toward becoming the Group of Eight." (RTR, NTV, June 12) Yeltsin plans to attend next week’s G-7 summit in Denver.

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