RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 1, No. 82, Part I, 28 July 1997

ZYUGANOV SLAMS PRESIDENTIAL VETOES. Communist Party leader Gennadii Zyuganov says President Boris Yeltsin "has begun a new stage of the crusade against Russia" by vetoing the law on religious organizations and the land code, Interfax reported on 26 July. The previous day, Yeltsin vetoed the code, primarily because it would have banned the purchase and sale of farmland (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 July 1997). Zyuganov charged that Yeltsin "has already sold two-thirds of the country" through privatization and now "is preparing the third re-distribution of property" through land sales. However, he admitted that the State Duma will find it "very, very difficult" to override the veto. At the same time, Zyuganov expressed confidence that both the Duma and the Federation Council will override Yeltsin's recent veto of the religion law. A two-thirds majority in both houses of parliament is required to override a presidential veto.

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Johnson's Russia List

#1092

28 July 1997

djohnson@cdi.org