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Presents an interview with Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, who does not appear to be ready to fade off into history. Considers his determination to remain as President of the Soviet Union, keeping control over nuclear weapons, his definition of a `soft' union, the Minsk agreement, his relationship with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, how the West can help and the possibility of another coup.

Describes how, during three days last week, the Russian people accomplished a kind of miracle: the reversal of a thousand years of autocracy. For the first time the Russian people did not subside into an acceptance of overlords, but instead poured into the streets, determined, methodical, astonishingly unafraid, defying the curfew, facing down the troops. The biggest mistake the Emergency Committee made was not to kill both Gorbachev and Yeltsin.

Describes the Central Aerohydrodynamics Institute, a research complex outside Moscow that employs 10,000 scientists and technicians and combines the theoretical study of aerodynamics with practical experiments on airplanes and spacecraft. One of the jewels of the Soviet military-industrial complex; `The defense industry just takes what it wants, and whatever is left over goes to the civilian sector'; The prosperity of the military complex may be shortlived.

Profiles some members of Russian President Boris Yeltsin's team, a group of ministers and advisers in their late 30s and early 40s, who represent a new Russia. First Deputy Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar, point man for economic reforms, whose shock therapy program yielded mixed results; Vice president Alexander Rutskoi; Top political strategist Gennadi Burbulis, who put together the initial government lineup; Yeltsin's `credit of trust'; Core of the cabinet.

Focuses on the Muslim republics of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, economically underdeveloped states of the former Soviet Un ion which are not ready to deal with political pluralism and free-market economics. Wary of making geopolitical commitments; Growing Western fears of a slide into Islamic fundamentalism; The tug between secular, Westernized Turkey and radical, anti-Western Iran; Younger generation of radicals.

Outlines recent Keystone Kops behavior of the leadership of the Russian Federation as a movement to secede by the Chechen-Ingush autonomous republic has blossomed into outright rebellion and the much larger ethnic group, the Tatars, declared their region to be independent. Worsening economic slide; Failed attempts to reconstitute some central authority; Some floundering inevitable; The role Russia plays. INSET: Moscow years while heroes scribble..

Comments that Mikhail Gorbachev has rammed through the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies a reorganization that further strengthens his hand. Unprecedented powers on paper--in practice, increasing difficulty ruling. Flanked by a party hack andincreasingly dependent on security forces; Separatist challenge; Economic breakdown and an unwillingness to institute a free-market economy. INSET: Gorbachev's parliamentary box score.;Yanayev: A man for other....

Comments that today it is not only misleading but also wrong to view Russia and the Soviet Union as one political entity. Gorbachev and Yeltsin are locked in a personal duel that is a pivotal test of how much control the center can exert vs. how much independence Russia and other republics can exercise. The 500-day economic program; Yeltsin effecting a peaceful democratic revolution; Alternative courses. INSET: In Moldavia, what's yours is mine, by J. Carney..

Reports that Mikhail Gorbachev has hailed a radical economic plan that could turn the Soviet Union into a nation of shopkeepers, but then suggested a few ways to dilute it. Radical plan drafted by the Yeltsin-Gorbachev commission under economist Stanislav Shatalin; A federation of republics with economies built on private businesses, individually owned farms, entreprenurial investments and stock markets. INSET: The 500-day plan.;Will it work? (prospect assessment)..

Reports that Mikhail Gorbachev can't seem to please anyone in the Communist Party anymore, and that signs of trouble came only five minutes after the 28th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party convened last week. Politburo bashing; Switching to a market economy; Reform has not come fast enough.

Examines the current problems facing Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev on the eve of his summit meeting with United States President George Bush in Washington, D.C. Trade restrictions against the Soviet Union; Germany and NATO; Free market mechanisms and panicky shoppers; New offer to Lithuania.

Surveys current life in Russia, where citizens are not expecting any improvements when the red hammer-and-sickle flag is lowered and Mikhail Gorbachev steps down as Soviet President. At a Saturday meeting in Alma-Ata, Kazakh, eleven presidents of former Soviet republics signed documents formally creating a Commonwealth of Independent States, agreed to form a military council and have Russia take over the United Nations seat. Social and economic decay; Famine.

Describes the provincial city of Perm in the Soviet Union, where cigarettes and bread are practically the only major staples not rationed, and where salt, sugar, butter, eggs, macaroni and matches must be bought with ration coupons. People power and the Russian tricolor; Perm's reformers worry local governments may stifle the revolution in the provinces; Future of local industry.

Questions whether the failure of the recent coup in the Soviet Union was due mainly to the leaders' lack of belief in the future of the Communist party they knew was an empty fraud. Looting of treasury and shady real estate deals; Signs of runawaycorruption; Death of Nikolai Kruchina, the party's top financial officer; Appearance of new groups; Heading toward nonparty politics.

Suggests that while Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's fervent conversion to the cause of radical reform has helped boost his standing, he has benefited even more from the erratic behavior of Russian President Boris Yeltsin. Gorbachev's view of legality; Yeltsin's muzzle on the Communist Party as a signal concerning fundamental rights; Gorbachev's prestige abroad as capital in the bank; A Gorbachev-Yeltsin alliance.

Considers the Russian republic presidential campaign which got off to a breathless and stumbling start for an election on June 12. Six registered candidates, three of whom are unknown; No posters, no sound trucks, a severe paper shortage and miserly funding; Evening news reports and dark horses.

Details how Moscow is maneuvering to open the Soviet Union to foreign influence in ways that might make not only Stalin and Lenin but also some of the czars spin in their graves. Mikhail Gorbachev's attempt to apply for membership in the G-7 (the Group of Seven); Requesting help from the West for an economic makeover; Emigration policy; Statute allowing citizens to travel; Political concessions. INSET: Have passport, will travel..

Presents an interview with former Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze, who now heads the Soviet Foreign Policy Association and will soon tour the US. Considers such subjects as, among others, do you still believe that a dictatorship may be coming; How are your relations with Gorbachev; What role does the military-industrial complex play in the life of your country.

Considers jittery Muscovites who are currently paying more attention to the soldiers in their midst. New patrols intended to combat a steep rise in violent crime; Kremlin's backsliding on reform; Crackdown to wipe out the black market may trampleunderfoot the first fragile growth of free enterprise; Slight softening in the stance of the Baltic republic's leaders. INSET: Murder and mayhem, by J. Carney..

Considers some of the current problems facing the mayor of Leningrad, Anatoli Sobchak, who has major problems with his 382-member city council and problems with food supplies for the coming winter. Rural regions holding back produce; Restoration of Communist rule; Concentration of power in the city councils. INSET: Lost in translation..

Observes that as Mikhail Gorbachev finally picks a reform program, Boris Yeltsin promptly picks a fight over who can best end the economic chaos. Reaffirming a commitment to more drastic measures than Gorbachev is promoting; Getting the Soviet Union onto a market economy; Avoiding a collision course between Gorbachev and Yeltsin. INSET: Points of difference (outline of both plans).;How times have....

Reports that the Soviet president, facing a restive nation and a populist rival, will unveil a 500-Day Play aimed at transforming the economy. Yeltsin's 500 Day Plan for a new economic program to be submitted to the central government; The decision to join forces being a masterstroke for Gorbachev; Collapse of the country's food-distribution system.

Reports that the parliament in Kiev overwhelmingly passed a declaration of sovereignty, insisting that the republic's laws take precedence over Moscow's rule. Neutral, nuclear-free Ukraine with its own army and currency; Economic viability. INSET: The Party man from Kiev (Vladimir Ivashko)..

Reports that Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has defeated a rival from the right, Yegor Ligachev, but on the left, Boris Yeltsin has bolted from the Communist Party and threatens to create a separate power center. Sparking a wave of defections; Best interim solution might be the creation of a `nonparty' system; Patience wearing thin.

Comments on Mikhail Gorbachev's recollections of his fall from power, which detail how he continues to believe the old Soviet republics would be better off in a new union. Selectiveness in reviewing the past; Silence on his abrupt abandonment of economic reforms in 1990; Vague terms on the January 1991 crackdown on the Baltic republics; The August coup attempt; His relations with sometime enemy, sometime ally, Yeltsin; The continuing optimist.

Describes how the Kama automotive factory (KAMAZ) in Naberezhnye Chelny (600 mi. east of Moscow) is coping with a perennial problem: lack of parts. The complex was designed to be the largest heavy-duty-truck manufacturer in the world, capable of turning out 150,000 trucks a year. KAMAZ has created its own brand of capitalism, and swaps new trucks in direct exchange for rubber tubing, electrical parts or sheet metal; Joint venture with Cummings Engine Co.; President Nikolai Bekh.

Describes the toppling of the statue of `Iron Felix' Dzherzhinsky (founder of the secret police), and comments on the inaction of the KGB in the coup's aftermath, as divided and traumatized by the actions of its disgraced chief, Vladimir Kryuchkov, as was the army. Statement from the agency; Shuffle of leaders; Effects on the agency of the impending union treaty.

Details recent differences of opinion between Alexei Sergeyev, founder of the hard-line Communist Initiative movement, and Mikhail Gorbachev, the latest over a draft charter presented to the plenum of the party leadership which would be the first complete restatement of basic principles in 30 years. Rank-and-file members deserting the party in droves; Hard-liners versus radicals. INSET: The dustheap of history..

States that the bloodshed in Vilnius has polarized Soviet society, widening the chasm between reformers and reactionaries, leaving almost no support for the centrist positions that Gorbachev claims to represent. Mass defection of prominent politicians, economists, writers, artists and scientists from the Gorbachev camp to align with the democratic movement; Power base for Russian leader Boris Yeltsin; Transforming street meetings into political clout.

Details the defiant protests in Tbilisi, capital of the Georgian republic over the Soviet repression in Lithuania. High on Moscow's target list; Fears of a Moscow pretext for a military crackdown in the South Ossetian Autonomous Region; Ultimatum for Georgian withdrawal from South Ossetia; Suspicions.

Details the announcement of Mikhail Gorbachev that a temporary economic truce has been reached with the republics, finally making it possible to draft a national budget for the coming year. Easing tensions in Moldavia; Reconsideration of laws promoting rights for ethnic Moldavians; Tensions mounting in the Baltics.

Describes Boris Yeltsin, elected chairman of the Russian parliament, who oversees the largest, wealthiest and most populous of the Soviet Union's 15 republics. A reckless street brawler and modern-day David; Facing a common enemy: the centralizedbureaucracy controlled by the Kremlin; Needing Yeltsin's support for a new treaty of union; `Credit of trust' with the people.

Describes current shortages in the Soviet Union due mostly to an antiquated state distribution system. Wide-scale rationing; Apple drink instead of milk and butter. Problems include the inability of the central government to mend the economy, calls from republics and regions for greater political autonomy, profiteering and hoarding. INSET: Yes, we have no potatoes..

Argues that as Moscow sees it, slow and steady diplomacy will pay off, especially if the first mad dash to contain Saddam fails. Startling decision for Moscow to join the international confederation against Iraq; Diplomatic two-step: resistance towithdrawing its military advisers from Iraq, but providing the Pentagon with information on Soviet military hardware there.