European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 8, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Leningrad loses name game Ltd a is $ �0 j / Finland China officially recognizes Baltic republics Leningrad to revert to former name of St. Petersburg a 1 Poland from wire reports Leningrad . Residents of this City named after the communist founder of the soviet Union rejoiced saturday after legislators upheld a popular vote to switch the name Back to pre revolutionary St. Petersburg. But unapologetic communists outraged at the fall from Grace of Vladimir Ilyitch Lenin and the toppling of his statues around the country Are calling the change a Victory for the bourgeoisie. The move Friday was part of a wildfire anti communist revolution sparked by last month s failed hard line coup and came As a newly formed Kremlin government voted to recognize the three Baltic republics that were seized during world War 11. On saturday China announced it was officially recognizing Estonia Latvia and Lithuania the three Baltic states granted Independence from the soviet Linion. Foreign minister Qian Lichen sent see related stories on Page 10 messages to the foreign ministers of the Baltic states saying the chinese government has recognized their Independence the foreign ministry said in a statement carried by the official Xinhua news Agency. Qian said China is a ready to develop Friendly relations and cooperation with the three countries Quot the statement said. Official reports have stressed that China will not abandon socialism. They also have carried veiled warnings for chinese minorities that have been restive in recent years not to be influenced by Independence movements in the soviet Union. Chinese officials have watched the political upheaval in the soviet Union with uneasiness concerned about stability along the Long Border the two countries share and political aftershocks from the collapse of the soviet communist party. China now is the worlds Only major communist Power. The new Kremlin decentralized government dominated by Boris Yeltsin a see name on Page 2 the newly adopted Muslim National Flag of Azerbaijan flies Over a mass Independence rally that was held Friday in Baku. The rally was held on the eve of the first Ever election of the republics  seeking to hold talks with Kab head Washington a i in an unprecedented move designed to measure where the soviet Union is headed. Secretary of state James a. Baker 111 is trying to arrange talks this week with the head of the soviet Kab and the new soviet defense minister. Baker also will meet with Leningrad mayor Anatoly Sobchak and make a Stop in Kazakhstan the Oil Rich Republic where he will hold talks with its president Nur Sultan Naza Bayev. The trip which begins tuesday affords Baker a Chance to make a firsthand assessment of the rapid political changes As the soviet Union moves away irom orthodox communism and a Strong Central government. Baker also is going to Estonia Latvia and Lithuania the three newly Independent Baltic states whose separation from the soviet Union has helped encourage other republics to assert their identities. A lie wants to meet with As Many soviet reformers As he can and to engage with these individuals Quot Margaret d. Tutwiler the state department spokeswoman said Friday in announcing bakery a travel plans. A and that a see Kab on Page 2changing world tests . Teachers every Day Bismarck . Apr lesson plans Are crumbling like the Berlin Wall and teachers Are scrambling to keep up with world events. At Hughes Junior High school students have been using a Book published in the Early 1980s, Back when president Reagan called the soviet Union an evil Empire and talk of a Middle East Summit was Only a Distant Hope. The world has changed dramatically in the past two years making social science textbooks seriously outdated. A major War has been fought in the persian Gulf. The Berlin Wall that Sepa rated East Germany and West Germany has fallen and the two countries have become one. The soviet Union has undergone major reforms and just last month its government suffered a coup attempt by communist hard liners opposed to those reforms. A a it a Tough to keep finding updated materials Quot says teacher Jim Cornell who this summer bought the latest Atlas on the Market. It includes maps of the old East Germany and West Germany. Teachers these Days must rely heavily on the news Media for materials said see teachers on Page 2future s up in the air for soviet space station Moscow apr a i have a question. Is it True the russians Are going to sell the Mir space station where we Are now in space ? and we Are asking together with us in it a a bewildered soviet cosmonaut asked from space As his orbiting station floated above the Earth. The soviet space program is in deep trouble just like the whole science and Economy of the crumbling Empire. The old Days of glory a the sputnik la in 1959, Yuri Gagarin a first Ever space flight in 1961 a Are Over and its future is As dark As any of the Galaxy a Black holes. Facing the new realities leaders of the soviet military industries have seriously considered Selling the station to foreign space superpowers said a newscaster on soviet television. The other possibility would not please the astronauts either a there has been a plan to simply drown it in the Pacific Ocean. In recent years the soviets have turned Mir into a sort of commercial venture transporting a for a hefty see space on Page 2