Political Council Of Fatherland Faction favors Idea Of Consolidating With Yedinstvo

The political council of the Otechestvo (Fatherland) movement unanimously supported a decision of their leader, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov to unite with the Yedinstvo (Unity) party today. Luzhkov reported this in an interview with journalists after the council's session. He was quoted as saying that the political council elected Otechestvo members who will be representing the movement in the Coordinating Council of the two political organizations.

They are: Yury Luzhkov, Alexander Vladislavlev, Vyacheslav Volodin, Georgiy Boos, Andrey Isayev, Oksana Dmitriyeva, Nikolay Kovalyov and Artur Chilingarov. According to Luzhkov, the Coordinating Council will be working until November 2001, as a union assembly of Otechestvo and Yedinstvo is supposed to be conducted then. Among the main activities of the Council will be the elaboration on program documents, a program draft and determining the structure of the future party. The first session of the Council will be held on April 26. A program of its activities for the next several months will be approved then.