RUSSIANS STRIKE

Hundreds of thousands of Russian workers, from teachers and hospital employees to miners and factory laborers, are on strike. Many haven't been paid in over two years. In Moscow, about 2,000 workers picketed the government headquarters, calling forBoris Yeltsin's resignation. Although the trade unions say thegovernment owes $1.14 billion in back wages, Labor Minister Gennady Melikyan blames local administrators for the crisis, saying the federal government has paid its debts to state-funded organizations.TIME Moscow correspondent Yuri Zarakhovichsays Melikyan has a point, saying "Up to a point, that's true, lots of places are controlled by gangsters," who take large cuts of money before it ever reaches the workers.