Russia Congress Puts Off Vote on Unity Treaty : Soviets: Gorbachev’s allies fail to win quick approval of pact to hold union together.
MOSCOW — Allies of Mikhail S. Gorbachev failed today to win quick approval by the Russian republic’s congress for the president’s proposed treaty to keep the union together.
Russian reformers argued that the proposal should be discussed thoroughly by the public before lawmakers vote on it.
Quick adoption of the union treaty by the largest of the 15 republics would have been a tremendous victory for Gorbachev as he tries to keep the country from splintering.
It would have been a defeat for Russia’s president, Boris N. Yeltsin, and other republic leaders who are trying to diminish the central government’s power. Approval of the union treaty would commit them to remain united with a strong central government headed by President Gorbachev.
Gorbachev told legislators that he personally lobbied Yeltsin during a break in the session, according to the independent news service Interfax.
“Naturally, Russia’s position on this question has great significance, for without Russia, there is no union,†Gorbachev said.
As Gorbachev beamed from an isolated balcony in the Grand Kremlin Palace, his allies in the Congress of Russian People’s Deputies tried to force Yeltsin to include adoption of the treaty on the congress’ agenda.
The congress is much more loyal to Gorbachev and to the central government than the smaller Russian Supreme Soviet legislature, which Yeltsin controls easily. The congress is holding an extraordinary session to discuss Russia’s economic woes and consider legalizing private land ownership.
Largely through sheer stubbornness, Yeltsin refused to let hard-line Communists add approval of the treaty to the agenda. Instead, he called for an “exchange of opinions†on the treaty and won approval by a vote of 696 to 199 with 36 abstentions.
Despite the failed end run, Gorbachev insisted that “in the end, all the republics will sign the union treaty. Even those who shout against it won’t be able to do anything. They are all just loudmouths.â€
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