LEFTIST ALLIANCE REELECTS ZYUGANOV. The People's Patriotic Union reelected Communist Party leader Zyuganov chairman on 21 November at its second congress in Moscow. Zyuganov described the key goals of the alliance as achieving a return to centralized government, broad constitutional reform to redistribute the president's power among the government and parliament, and the creation of a union of Slavic states by Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine. Interfax reported that delegates to the congress applauded the anti-Semitic remarks of a Vorkuta miner. JAC

KUCHMA LAMBASTES POLICE FOR POOR RECORD IN COMBATING CRIME... Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma on 20 November blasted the police and the court system for being inefficient in fighting crime, Interfax and AP reported. He told a conference on fighting organized crime and corruption that the three main reasons hindering the work of law enforcement bodies are lack of experience, low moral standards among police officers, and inconsistent legal norms. Kuchma said "people are losing faith in the state and the authorities" because of the police's inability to solve many serious crimes and combat organized crime. According to official statistics, the police have rooted out nearly 3,000 criminal gangs that have committed some 21,700 crimes in Ukraine over the past three years. JM

...BLAMES NATIONAL BANK FOR CAPITAL FLIGHT. Kuchma and Prosecutor-General Mykhaylo Potebenko blamed the National Bank for failing to prevent massive capital flight from Ukraine. Potebenko said many banks are using accounts with Ukrainian branches of foreign banks to launder money and transfer it abroad. According to Potebenko, such a practice testifies to "the lack of control over and the lack of responsibility on the part of the Ukrainian National Bank." JM

HUNGARIAN PREMIER MEETS WITH DZURINDA... Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda and his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban, held talks on 21 November within the framework of the Central European Initiative summit in Zagreb, Slovak 1 Radio reported. Orban said the two countries are at the "beginning of a new era" in relations. He added that "NATO enlargement will really be complete--from the political as well a historical point of view--only if Slovakia is involved." Dzurinda said the new Slovak government will "do its best to improve Slovakia's image abroad." Dzurinda also met with the premiers of Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, and Ukraine. PB