32 



countering some resistance within Russia. What's the basis of the 

 opposition? 



Mr. Kauzlarich. I think in a sense they regard it as rather in- 

 trusive involvement of the United States or of Westerners in a 

 process that they would very much like to decide on their own. I 

 think they would clearly like to see themselves treated as a normal 

 customer for grain purchases the way they want to purchase it and 

 then distribute it the way they would like to distribute it. 



It is in part a reflection, I think, of the political tension within 

 Russia today of the reformers versus the more conservatives, who 

 regard any Western activity, and particularly the activities that 

 seem to involve the West telling Russia what to do, as something 

 to be a threat rather than part of the process of helping support 

 the reform process. So I think in a sense this reaction is reflective 

 of the very basic political differences that are present in Russia 

 today. 



Mr. Penny. There must be some regions within Russia where the 

 local authorities are more committed to reform and would be more 

 receptive to that type of distribution effort. 



Mr. Kauzlarich. That's right. 



Mr. Penny. Is there an overlap between the degree of coopera- 

 tion and the degree of need, or do we have disconnect there? 



Mr. Kauzlarich. Not always. There may be, I think, a bit of a 

 disconnect in that sense, but it is possible to try to match some of 

 these programs. I will have to defer on the detail of what we're 

 doing in the monetization area, but it is possible to match some of 

 these programs with more reform-minded regions. Nizhnovgorod, 

 which is the one area that's always cited, I think, as having a par- 

 ticularly reform-minded leadership and population, I think has 

 benefited more fi*om our general privatization efforts than many 

 other regions in Russia where there is, unfortunately, more resist- 

 ance to the idea of reform, 



Mr. Penny. I thank you for your testimony this morning. 



We want to move next to Christopher Goldthwait. Christopher is 

 the Acting General Sales Manager, Foreign Agricultural Service, 

 within the Department of Agriculture. This is not the first and 

 probably won't be the last time we'll discuss with Christopher the 

 USDA's involvement in food shipments to Russia. 



We welcome you this morning and would ask that you summa- 

 rize your testimony, and then we'll move directly to questions. 



STATEMENT OF CHRISTOPHER GOLDTHWAIT, ACTING GEN- 

 ERAL SALES MANAGER, FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE, 

 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE; ACCOMPANIED BY 

 ALLAN MUSTARD, DEPUTY COORDINATOR, EAST EUROPEAN 

 AND FORMER SOVIET UNION SECRETARIAT; AND CHRIS- 

 TOPHER J. FOSTER, LEADER, FORMER SOVIET UNION SEC- 

 TION, ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE 



Mr. Goldthwait. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I appre- 

 ciate the opportunity to be with you again and to address the sub- 

 committee. With your permission, I will ask that my full statement 

 be entered into the record, and I'll confine myself to a few remarks. 



Mr. Penny. Without objection, your prepared statement will ap- 

 pear in the record. 



