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Show F-- - III! inn S HI R 1.D, Pre. I ufc, Ttjrwl,n. r lit. f It; ! ."W By DONALD U ROTHBERG AP Dptomafie Writer WASHINGTON The warriors are getting along better than the pl-ic- y makers and the diplomats. While Russia and the United State argue NATO expansion, their mili- a!tileaders are trying to keep thai tary debate from undermining cooperation between ldiers in the Held. Ruian troops are part of the NATO-le-d peacekeeping force in Bosnia and the generals on both sides hope that is a portent of the future. But in one of the isolated comers of the world. NATO's north- - mj In emmosl outpost is the border between Russia and Norway. In the desolate region, heavily armed Russia trwps still pufrol an electric fence only yards from equally alert Ntirwegtan forces. "What we saw there wu-- , some of the residue of the Cold War." Defense Secretary William Perry said reeenty upon returning fnm a visit lothe region. Perry trip followed a meeting m Bergen. Norway, at which NATO defense ministers met with Igor Rodtonov. the new Russian defense minister. For Perry, the highlight of the meeting appeared lo be the moment Rixftonrw said he wanted to continue cooperating with NATO even if the alliance went ahead with pirns to admit former communist countries once allied with the Soviet Union. "! was pleased." Perry said during the flight hi me from Norway. But happy as he was. the defense secretary conceded the debate isn't resolved. Russian agree on not diplomats Russian, U.S. warriors Boris Yeltsin President and his foreign minister, Yevgeny have taken tougher stands on expansion of the Western alliance. "Trie plitical issue is far from settled." said Pern "Nothing that happened at the Rixhonov meeting moved toward reaching a political settlement. We didn't even discuss with him how we would reach a political settlement." Rodvonov a respected general, firmly stated Russian opposition Jo plans to open N ATO membership to nations once controlled by the Soviet Union. '"It is difficult to convince our public that NATO is a peaceful organization with purposes only." he said, asking why the alliance was mining eastward "at a time when Western officials admit there is no threat to its security from gd the side of Russia." But? NATO's plans are moving ahead, and next year an alliance summit probabfy will probaWy issue is first invrwiom lo former Warsaw Bloc countries Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic are the hkery to join the alliance. recTpierits Shortly before he left the Norway meeting. Rodionov was asked at a news conference whether Russia would continue N ATO if the alliance ignored Russian objections and invited former Sov let allies to join. "Surely." the Russian defense mir.is?er replied. "We will cooper Russia, of wireless tedinology. ATXT Digital PCS ban alHrKme per- sonal commurtkrations service for the way you unpaid Hon. MOSCOW Russia's disas-tnxj- s labor situation seems on the surface hie a social explosion ailing lo happen. Millions of workers haven't been paid for months. Miners, musicians and teachers from St. Petersburg 10 Sakhalin are staging more and more strikes and demonstrations, demanding their pay and protesting a 70 percent decline in the buying power of those wages since 1990. In Moscow, some government employees literally lake home potatoes instead of paychecks. Vet despite a dramatic worsen-.n- g in the problem of unpaid ages. the rumble of protest has yet to turn into a unified roar the kind that could stir mass action and perhaps ftwce changes in economic reforms. ' It seems to me the general unrest is no; very high this autumn tn ipite of everything." said Yuri LeCada. a leading Russian pollster and social scientist. "I see no danger of a universal uprising." Russia's strict monetary policy, intended to tame inflation, is squeezing state coffers and causing unpaid wages and pensions to skyrocket. Production is still in decline. Kv e. Up to 60 hours leave time. Turn it on. ofstandby By DAVE CARPENTER Associated Press Writer President Boris Yeltsin blames corrupt regional officials and xx dodgers who are costing the state pillions in lost revenue. "We shall apply stiff and resolute measures to all those guilty of wage and pension delays." he said Friday in a nationwide radio address. But most Russians still hold the government responsible for the crisis, especially since Yeltsin repeatedly promised to clean up ihe problem in his campaign. Western labor experts on Russia express puzzlement over how a significant segment of the work force can go without pay for up to six months. Among the possible reasons, they say. are union disarray, fear of unemployment and a national psyche not fully geared to striking. Hard to overl(K)k. loo. is the renov ned stoicism of Russians. "You know that in spite of everything, in those (Soviet) years a we had no .social uprisings." said. Workers sometimes get their pay in shoddy or basic goods. Trucks pull up periodically behind government ministries and companies in Moscow, dispensing cheese, eggs, bread, potatoes or sausage instead of cash to sullen workers carrying vouchers. Enterprises, across Russia have found similar ways of settling back wages. They of fer employees candy, cement, coats, vodka, even imported brassieres. As a result, workers nnd second jobs to make up for low or no wages. A Moscow neurosurgeon works as a night watchman. A head phy sician cleans toilets for a Western business. People scraK to get by. and wait for things to improve. said last." 'Hope dies Vladislav Kolesnikov. a Moscow scientist who joined with hundreds of academics Thursday to protest going unpaid since spring. "We are still alive. We are paid salaries sometimes, but there is no money to buy new equipment." saiu rsoiesnikov. wno continues 10 work despite the lack of a paycheck. There are worrisome signs that the deteriorating pay situation may he reaching a critical stage. Overdue wages and social benefits have more than tripled in a year" to about 57 billion. The Labor Ministry counted 8.856 strikes lasting a day or more last year, a huge leap from 514 in 1994. and the number is soaring again. t A new level millions of workers still ate. We will confirm in practice thai we arc ready to cooperate for the sake of preservation of peace. One thing is not in contradiction j with the other." f "I was hoping that was the way I he would respond," said Perry. i After Rodionov responded to the 3 question, he glanced toward Perry and nodded, as if making the point thai he was willing to say in public what he already had told the NATO J ministers in private. f Donald M. 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