Estonia Labor

Striking ethnic Russian workers in the Soviet Baltic republic of Estonia pledged to continue their protest action against a new local voting law that disenfranchises recent immigrants, many of whom are Russians. Izvestia, the Soviet government newspaper, said that 40,000 workers are on strike.

Estonia's Communist Party chief called Monday for ethnic Russian workers in his republic to end a six-day strike and negotiate differences. Unrest flared in the southern republic of Azerbaijan, meanwhile, with thousands of people holding a rally and saying they would concentrate their strike on key industries. Strike leaders in Estonia's capital of Tallinn said at least 20,000 Russian workers stayed off the job to protest a new law that tightens residency requirements for voters and candidates.

Walkouts spread Thursday in Estonia to include up to 20,000 workers, and protest leaders said they had no plans to call off the 2-day-old protest against a new election law, reports from the Baltic republic said. In a bid to stop the strike, the Estonian parliament passed a resolution Thursday suspending all strikes at enterprises and organizations in Estonia, Tass reported.

Galina Rybanskaya, an ethnic Russian, has lived comfortably for 28 years in the Baltic republic of Estonia, but now she is troubled as never before by what she delicately calls "elements of discrimination." Sasha Kopytina, also Russian, married an Estonian and moved to the republic just a year ago. "I had planned to stay here all my life, but now I don't know. My rights are being restricted," she said.

Galina Rybanskaya, an ethnic Russian, has lived comfortably for 28 years in the Baltic republic of Estonia, but now she is troubled as never before by what she delicately calls "elements of discrimination." Sasha Kopytina, also Russian, married an Estonian and moved to the republic just a year ago. "I had planned to stay here all my life, but now I don't know. My rights are being restricted," she said.

The Russian minority in the Baltic republic of Estonia went on the offensive Wednesday with scattered strikes at factories and shipyards, protesting efforts by Estonian activists to sever the republic politically and economically from Moscow. The action demonstrated the growing anger of the Russians, who have held the reins of power in the Soviet Union ever since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution but who have been criticized by many of the country's more than 100 ethnic minorities.

Estonia's Communist Party chief called Monday for ethnic Russian workers in his republic to end a six-day strike and negotiate differences. Unrest flared in the southern republic of Azerbaijan, meanwhile, with thousands of people holding a rally and saying they would concentrate their strike on key industries. Strike leaders in Estonia's capital of Tallinn said at least 20,000 Russian workers stayed off the job to protest a new law that tightens residency requirements for voters and candidates.

Bankers, business people and economists in the three Baltic republics were caught off guard when the collapse of last month's Kremlin putsch sent their countries surging toward independence. "Who could have predicted that it would happen so quickly?" Elmar Matt, director of the Bank of Estonia, the republic's central bank, said in an interview Wednesday. "Our prognosis was that we would be completely free by 1995."

Striking ethnic Russian workers in the Soviet Baltic republic of Estonia pledged to continue their protest action against a new local voting law that disenfranchises recent immigrants, many of whom are Russians. Izvestia, the Soviet government newspaper, said that 40,000 workers are on strike.

Walkouts spread Thursday in Estonia to include up to 20,000 workers, and protest leaders said they had no plans to call off the 2-day-old protest against a new election law, reports from the Baltic republic said. In a bid to stop the strike, the Estonian parliament passed a resolution Thursday suspending all strikes at enterprises and organizations in Estonia, Tass reported.

The Russian minority in the Baltic republic of Estonia went on the offensive Wednesday with scattered strikes at factories and shipyards, protesting efforts by Estonian activists to sever the republic politically and economically from Moscow. The action demonstrated the growing anger of the Russians, who have held the reins of power in the Soviet Union ever since the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution but who have been criticized by many of the country's more than 100 ethnic minorities.