other Communist Party Yeltsin's victory was a convincing one. Conservative candidates won less than a third of his vote. A popular mandate in the USSR's strongest republic will now put Yeltsin in a powerful position in the approaching negotiations over the new union treaty.
vikha cornacnev witowave lo co cede a considerable margin of power to his rival. As he tries to persuade the West to provide a new programme of Marshall Aid in retirn for marketisation, danger us competitor.
With a far more consistent record of support for radical marketisation, as well as controlover a large slice of the USSR's resources, Boris Yeltsin may prove to be an attractive leader with whom to negotiate.
But the Russian premier is likely to regret his prediction that the state of the Soviet economy will begin to improve by the end of next yeal.
Pope greeted by strikes THE RECENT visit of the Pope to his native Poland saw numerous papal masses, as well as attacks by the Pope on abortion rights. 'thou shalt not kill' he said - with a sense of irony, perhaps, given the record of catholicism over the centuries.
However, the Pope's celebrations were far from the only 'mass action' taking place iff Poland. During his visit, reports of papal statements were interspersed with frequent strike reports.
As elsewhere in eastern Europe, consciousness of the dangers of privatisation is spreading.
Solidarnosc leaders in Bydgoszcz declared a strike alert... and urged the union to' extend the action to the whole of Poland'. In Slupsk, workers went on strike demanding full compensation for price increases.
Strikes have increasingly taken up political demands - in Tarnow, union warned that they would not allow the union to beignored', while in Jaslo workers walked out in protest at the government's arrogant attitudé. Air traffic controllers threatened action, calling for wage parity with their western counterparts - a rise of over 1,000%.
Premier Lech Walesa's response wasswift: a threat to put the air traffic controllers under military rule, and an appeal to union leaders to stop all 'illegal strikes'. Yeltsin is a Two years after the 1989 democracy movement, repression from Chinese authorities continues to meet underground resistance. According to official sources, more than 750 people have now been tried for their participation in the Democracy Movement. 72 were charged with plotleaders ting to destabilise the But claims that the trials 'have basically finished' - a part of the the regime's attempt to consign the whole movement to the history books - are not true. Pro-democracy activists continue to face harassment. In Beijing, anti-government posters and leaflets have appeared frequently, students have Fascism is once more on the upsurge in eastern Europe stability predicted Chinese ruler Li Peng. Even China's Finance Minister was forced to admit that the economy had deteriorated to 'a very grave situation', with a real budget deficit in 1990 of nearly $10 billion.
Passive resistance from workers has contributed to a decline in business - indebtedness increased by over 120% in 1990. has also increased.
Government austerity has led to a huge increase in unemployment, prompting appeals for action from the usually docile All China Federation of Trade Unions, and reports of workers' resistance have emerged. Zheng Ming, Hong Kong-based journal, persed in panic. Large by the premier may soon face a factional struggle for Li Peng'srecent appointment of two supporters as Prime Ministers look like an attempt to bolster his 'He justified his choice on the grounds that 'they were firm and unejuivocal in their positior luring the struggle to quell the counter-revolutionary riot in 1989'. Informed souces suspect that dissent within the party continues.
Social and economic crises are accumulating in China. The Democracy Movement, far from being crushed by repression, has been reorganising as cracks appear in the facade of Li Peng's regime. message to the left - that