European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 1, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday thursday january 1/2, 1992 the stars and stripes b Page 3 end of an Era nuke threat worries Shevardnadze tells italian paper West should be terrorized Rome apr the West should be a a terrorized by the nuclear threat posed by the breakup of the soviet Union Eduard Shevardnadze the former soviet foreign minister was quoted As saying in an interview published tuesday. A in a situation of general instability anything can happen a Shevardnadze told the corriere Della Sera newspaper when asked if he had Faith in the Security of the nuclear Arsenal. Asked if the West should be worried Shevardnadze was quoted As replying a go ahead and say that i would be  earlier this month led by russian president Boris Yeltsin the 11 states in the new Commonwealth of Independent states agreed to put All nuclear weapons under an interim unified command. But concern has persisted particularly As several of the new states announced they were forming their own armies. A i done to Rule out that nuclear warheads and even Complete tactical arms can fall into the hands of some paramilitary formation. Its one of the possible scenarios a Shevardnadze was quoted As saying. Shevardnadze who lost his Job with inc the soviet Union was asked if former soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev might join a democratic Reform movement championed by Shevardnadze. A before it did no to seem possible. But today i  Rule it out. Gorbachev has declared that he intends to continue political activity. Knowing his ideas his dedication to the cause of reforms and democracy i really believe Shevardnadze that he might align himself with us a he was quoted As saying. A in All this Story you know what makes me bitter above All the fact that Gorbachev and the others did no to want to listen to me when a year ago they discounted my de a Shi c dissolution of bouncing the danger of a dictatorship that a coup was imminent a the Milan daily quoted Shevardnadze As saying. A if they had listened to me perhaps the coup  have happened the republics would have signed the Union treaty and today we would have been in a different  Shevardnadze resigned As foreign minister in december 1990, warning of the dangers of dictatorship. In August hard liners staged a coup against Gorbachev but he was restored to office with Yeltsin a backing. Shevardnadze agreed to rejoin the Central government in november. Yeltsin and the leaders of Belarus and Ukraine created the Commonwealth of Independent states on dec. 8, and were later joined by eight other former republics. Gorbachev resigned dec. 25. Shevardnadze said Yeltsin advocates democracy. However he was quoted As saying a but presidents can change. You should construct a social system based on the qualities or flaws of men who Are currently in  keeps wheels oiled in Moscow by Joseph Albright Cox news service Moscow a As the Ruble collapses muscovites have hit upon a new form of hard currency pints of Vodka. A people keep Vodka in Stock to use As liquid currency a says Dmitri Shvidrik a 40-year-old clerk in a scientific Laboratory. A i have More than 20 bottles at Home and i done to drink at  the reason a repairman will Yawn if you offer 20 rubles to get your car fixed or your ceiling plugged. But if you offer a bottle of Vodka the Job gets done. Hoarding by Little people such As Shvidrik As Well As big time liquor speculators has caused what Many russians Call a scandalous shortage of their National drink. New years eve is supposed to be the  of the year in Moscow. Yet nearly All state liquor stores have been sold out of Vodka for weeks. To buy Vodka now people Page by the trompe the numerous Small private markets that Spring up in vacant lots and on Street Corners. There Vodka is often available but the Price is about 80 rubles for a Hal Fliter about a pint. That is a weeks wages for a typical office worker. The few times Vodka appears at the state liquor stores a bottle costs Only 10 rubles. People line up for hours in the 15-degree cold to buy one bottle. At tourist Exchange rates 10 rubles is Worth a dime one Factor behind the Vodka shortage is that russian Glass factories Haven to made enough bottles. Too late liquor stores began imposing a bottle recycling system but the Vodka factories Are still Short of bottles. Why several years ago some of the bottle factories were closed As part of then president Mikhail Gorbachev s anti alcoholism Campaign. This summer some remaining plants broke Down for Lack of spare parts. Food shortages Price hikes have tempers flaring in Russia Moscow standing in line for food in Russia is no longer Boring. Now its dangerous. Fistfights Are growing in frequency As shoppers Rush to the stores before prices jump thursday throughout the vast russian federation. In the worst incident so far two people died Over the weekend in bread lines in the siberian Coal mining City of Kemerovo according to russian television. Such deaths Are rare. Most lines Are orderly and companionship or Consolation often can be found in them. But Many russians spend a Good part of every Day waiting to buy food clothing soap or other necessities. And among these hardened veterans of Sharp elbows and even sharper tongues tales of ferocious behaviour now Are common. It is a hallowed custom in the former soviet Union to allow veterans a those who fought in the a great patriotic War of 1939-1945 a to go directly to the front of virtually any line. But in Moscow on saturday mostly elderly women who had lined up for hours to buy meat at subsidized prices from a state store on Leningrad sky Prospect refused to allow a Man to push ahead of them despite the War medals pinned to his breast. Enraged he raised his Cane and swung out savagely catching one woman on the right Cheek the victim told the associated press. Russian president Boris Yeltsin has ordered the removal of Price ceilings starting thursday on All but the most Basic we need to stick it out under no circumstances can we yield to frustration and panic.1boris Yeltsin necessities of russian life such As bread milk baby food and Vodka. A i have said More than once and i want to repeat it again we Are facing a cried of hardship but this period wont e Long a six or eight months a Yeltsin e assured his 147 million countrymen in a year end address sunday. A we need to stick it out. Under no circumstances can we yield to frustration and panic a he added. Yeltsin a Brief speech televised across the former soviet Union was an Appeal for Calm during the painful transition to a Market Economy. Many russians fear that free prices will mean hyperinflation and they have been preparing for Market judgment Day with holy Fervour. Open a closet in any Moscow apartment and you May set off an Avalanche of onions dried bread Felt boots or matches. Problems associated with shortages caused by antiquated factories rampant theft poor transportation and a recent decline in Trade with other former soviet republics have been compounded by the anxiety Over Price reforms. On Friday a shouting mob of about 100 people blocked St. Petersburg a main thoroughfare Nevsky Prospect after a store ran out of sausage. Russian television showed Drivers waiting hours for gasoline monday. A frustrated truck Driver said he had spent two hours in line and when he put the nozzle in his tank the pump suddenly ran dry. Gorbachev faults stalinism urges Quick conversion to Market Economy Berlin up a former soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev said stalinism not socialism had failed in the soviet Union. In an interview published monday in the Berlin newspaper Kurrier am Abend Gorbachev said that it is now necessary for the former soviet Union to concentrate on building a Strong Market Economy so people would see improvements in their Standard of living As quickly As possible. Gorbachev said far reaching social changes Are necessary a because we Are in an extreme  he called the improvement of living conditions the first priority. The Kurrier reported that he defended socialism saying a the Model that has failed was the stalinist Conception of socialism. A that must be  he said that capitalism should not be idolized and that the search for a True social society would continue on the basis of the political experiences of different countries. Another German newspaper the Bild Zeitung reported from Moscow that Gorbachev this month would found Gorbachev an International a Gorbachev foundation to build up the economies and social systems of the republics in the new Commonwealth of Independent states. In a dispatch attributed to sources close to Gorbachev the newspaper said International organizations had pledged a Many billions of dollars to finance the work of the foundation. Bild said the foundation would give Gorbachev political and economic influence in the Commonwealth and protect him from attacks by russian president Boris n. Yeltsin. The foundation was to be headed by a confidant of Gorbachev Georgi Shach Nasarov a member of the Academy of science the newspaper said