
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, August 28, 1993                   TAG: 9308280099
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: MOSCOW                                LENGTH: Short

RUSSIA OKS DEFICIT, REPEALS CHURCH LIMITS

President Boris Yeltsin tasted victory and defeat in Russia's Parliament on Friday when legislators lifted controversial limits on religious activity by foreigners but approved budget-busting spending levels that endanger Western aid.

Rejecting Yeltsin's request to hold the line on subsidies to loss-leading state industries and other government outlays, the Supreme Soviet revoted its 1993 state budget that provides for a deficit equal to 25 percent of Russia's gross national product.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund recommend a deficit of no more than 10 percent of GNP. Foreign donors and lenders may elect not to provide more financial assistance if that ceiling is exceeded.

Deputy Prime Alexander Shokhin told reporters that the second half of a $3 billion IMF loan aimed at stabilizing Russia's economy, initially scheduled for September, has been held up as the parties negotiate.

Before tackling the budget Friday, Russia's lawmakers heeded Yeltsin for once and rolled back most limitations they had earlier voted to slap on religious activities by foreigners.

The ban on preaching and convert-seeking by unlicensed outsiders had alarmed religious organizations. The new restrictions also touched off a furor in the United States and other Western countries, who saw in them the signs of totalitarian backsliding.

- Los Angeles Times

by CNB