KGB ALIVE AND WELL IN TRANSDNIESTER.

Amid high publicity in Transdniester’s mass media, the Ministry of State Security celebrated on May 16 the sixth anniversary of its official creation. Minister Vladimir Antyufeev in his festive address gave credit to “the USSR KGB’s veterans on the ministry’s staff” for ensuring Transdniester’s stability and security. At the same time he called for “still greater vigilance” against both Moldova and Western influence. Representatives of unspecified rank of Russia’s Federal Security Service attended the festivities in Tiraspol. (Flux, May 16)

Antyufeev, formerly a senior KGB officer in Latvia, resurfaced in Moldova in 1992 under the assumed name Vadim Shevtsov. He headed a group of former USSR KGB and MVD officers who set up the secessionist region’s security apparatus. Thanks to support from Russian officials, Antyufeev kept his post after sending commandos to support the leftist-nationalist side against President Boris Yeltsin in the October 1993 fighting in Moscow. Antyufeev also proved strong enough to prevail against General Aleksandr Lebed in a personality conflict when Lebed commanded Russia’s 14th Army in Transdniester. Antyufeev is considered the real power behind Transdniester’s political leader Igor Smirnov.

AJAR BOYCOTT IN THE OFFING.