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BACKGROUND NOTES:  LATVIA
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Official Name:
Republic of Latvia


PROFILE

Geography
Area:  64,100 sq. km. (25,640 sq. miles); about the size of West
Virginia.

Cities:  Capital--Riga (1989 pop. 910,500).  Other
cities--Daugavpils (125,000); Liepaja (114,500); Jelgava
(74,100); Jurmala (60,600); Ventspils (50,600); Rezekne (42,500).

Terrain:  Fertile low-lying plains predominate in central Latvia,
highlands in Vidzeme and Latgale to the east, and hills  in the
western Kurzeme region.

Climate:  Temperate, with four seasons of almost equal length.


People
Nationality:  Noun and adjective--Latvian(s).

Population:  2.6 million.  Growth rate--0.6%.  Birth
rate--14/1,000.

Ethnic groups:  Latvian 52%, Russians 34%, Belorussians 4.5%,
Ukrainians 3%, Poles 2%.

Religions:  Lutheran, Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic.

Official language:  Latvian (official).  Russian also is widely
spoken.

Education: Years compulsory--9.  Literacy--99%.

Health:  Infant mortality rate--16/1,000.  Life expectancy--65
years male, 75 female.

Work Force (1.4 million):  Industry--30%.
Agriculture/forestry--16%.   Trade/Dining--9%.
Transport/Communication--7%.  Construction--10%.  Financial
services/Other--27%.


Government
Type:  Parliamentary democracy.

Constitution:  The 1922 constitution, the 1990 declaration of
renewal of independence, and the 1991 "Basic Law for the Period
of Transition" serve until a new constitution is ratified.

Branches:  Executive--chairman of parliament (head of state),
elected by parliament every five years; prime minister (head of
government).  Legislative--Saeima (100-member body).
Judicial--Supreme Court.

Administrative regions:  26 rural districts and 6 districts in
Riga.

Principal political factions:  Union "Latvia's Way," Farmers
Union,
National Conservative Party, "Harmony for Latvia" Coalition,
"Equal Rights" Faction, Christian Democrats, "Fatherland and
Freedom," Democratic Center Party.

Suffrage:  Universal at 18.

Flag:  Two horizontal, maroon bands of equal width divided by a
white stripe.


Economy
GDP:  $2.6 billion.

Growth rate:  -33%.

Natural resources:  Peat, limestone, dolomite, gypsum, timber.

Agriculture/forestry (24% of GDP):  Products--cattle, dairy
foods, cereals, potatoes.

Manufacturing/electricity (45% of GDP):  Light electrical
equipment and fittings, textiles and footwear, technological
instruments, construction materials, processed foods.

Trade:  Exports--$803 million:  transshipment of crude oil;
metals, timber and paper products; furniture; dairy and fish
products; light industrial products and machinery; chemical
products; textiles and clothing.  Major markets--Russia 43%;
Netherlands 12%; Germany 10%; Sweden 10%; Ukraine 9%; Belarus 7%.
Imports--$1.1 billion:  fuel, food, raw materials, machinery.
Partners--Russia 29%; Germany 10%; Lithuania 10%;  Sweden 5%;
Belarus 4%.

Exchange rate (July 1994):  0.57 Lats=U.S. $1.





PEOPLE
Latvians occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of
"Latviji," which may have originated from a "Latve" river that
presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia.  A small
Finno-Ugric tribe known as the Livs settled among the Latvians
and modulated the name to "Latvis," meaning "forest-clearers,"
which is how medieval German settlers also referred to these
peoples.

The German colonizers changed this name to "Lette" and called
their initially small colony "Livland."  The Latin form,
"Livonia," gradually referred to the whole of modern-day Latvia
as well as southern Estonia, which had fallen under German
dominion.  Latvians and Lithuanians are the only surviving
members of the Baltic peoples and languages of the Indo-European
family.

Latvians consider themselves to be Nordics, evidenced through the
strong cultural and religious influences gained over centuries
during Germanic and Scandinavian colonization and settlement.
Eastern Latvia (Latgale), however, retains strong Polish and
Russian cultural and linguistic influences.  This highly literate
society places strong emphasis upon education, which is free and
compulsory until age 16.  Most Latvians belong to the Evangelical
Lutheran Church.  A sizeable minority are Russian Orthodox.
Eastern Latvia is predominantly Roman Catholic.

Historically, Latvia always has had fairly large Russian, Jewish,
German, and Polish minorities, but postwar emigration,
deportations, and Soviet "Russification" policies from 1939-89
reduced the percentage of ethnic Latvians in Latvia from 73% to
53%.  Latvia's strict language law and draft citizenship law have
caused many non-citizen resident Russians concern over their
ability to assimilate, despite Latvian legal guarantees of
universal human and civil rights regardless of citizenship.

Written with the Latin alphabet, Latvian is the language of the
Latvian people and the official language of the country.  It is
an inflective language with several analytical forms, three
dialects, and German syntactical influence.  The oldest known
examples of written Latvian are from a 1585 catechism.

The Soviets imposed the official use of Russian, so most Latvians
speak Russian as a second or first language, while the resident
Slavic populace generally speaks Russian as a first language.


HISTORY
From about 9000 B.C., ancient peoples of unknown origin inhabited
Latvia.  By 3000 B.C., the ancestors of the Finns had settled the
region.  A millennium later, pre-Baltic tribes had arrived and,
within time, evolved into the Baltic Couranian, Latgallian,
Selonian, and Semigallian groups.  These tribes eventually formed
local governments independent of the Finno-Ugric Livian tribe.
In the 1300s,  they were conquered by the Germans, who renamed
the territory Livonia.

German sailors shipwrecked on the Daugava River in 1054 had
inhabited the area, which led to increasing German influence.
Founded by the Germanic Bishop Alberth of Livonia in 1201, the
city of Riga joined the Hanseatic League in 1285 and shared
important cultural and economic ties with the rest of Europe.
However, the new German nobility enserfed the peasantry and
accorded non-Germanic peoples only limited trading and property
rights.

Subsequent wars and treaties ensured Livonia's partition and
colonization for centuries.  The commonwealth's successes during
the Livonian Wars (1558-1583) united the Latvian-populated
duchies of Pardaugava, Kurzeme, and Zemgale, but the
Polish-Swedish War (1600-1629) granted Sweden acquisition of Riga
and the Duchy of Pardaugava, minus Latgale, leaving Latvia again
split ethnically.

In turn, victory over Sweden in the Great Northern War
(1700-1721) gave Russia control over the Latvian territories.
From 1804 onward, a series of local decrees gradually weakened
the grip of German nobility over peasant society.  In 1849 a law
granted a legal basis for the creation of peasant-owned farms.

Until the 1860s, there still was little sense of a Latvian
national identity, as both serfdom and institutional controls to
migration and social mobility limited the boundaries of the
peasants' intellectual and social geography.  The large baronic
estates caused a lack of available farmland for an increasing
population, creating a large landless, urban class comprising
about 60% of the population.

Also, in the face of stricter Russification policies, the Baltic
German clergy and literati began to take an interest in the
distinctive language and culture of the Latvian peasantry.  These
patrons (with such Lettish names as Alunans, Barons, Krastins,
Kronvalds, Tomsons, and Valdemars) soon formed the Young Latvian
Movement, whose aim was to promote the indigenous language and to
publicize and counteract the socioeconomic oppression of
Latvians.

By 1901 "Jauna Strava" had evolved into the Latvian Social
Democratic Party.  Following the lead of the Austrian Marxists,
the LSDP advocated the transformation of the Russian empire into
a federation of democratic states (to include Latvia) and the
adoption of cultural autonomy policy for extra-territorial ethnic
communities.

In 1903, the LSDP split into the more radically internationalist
Latvian Social Democratic Worker's Party and the more influential
Latvian Social Democratic Union (LSDU), which continued to
champion national interests and Latvia's national
self-determination, especially during the failed 1905 revolution
in Russia.

The onset of World War I brought German occupation of the western
coastal province of Kurzeme, and Latvians countered the invasion
by establishing several rifle regiments commanded by czarist
generals.  As a defensive measure, Russia dismantled over 500
local Latvian industries, along with technological equipment, and
moved them to central Russia.

The sagging military campaign generally increased Latvian and
LSDU support for the Bolsheviks' successful October Revolution in
1917, in hopes of a "free Latvia within free Russia."  These
circumstances led to the formation of the Soviet "Iskolat
Republic" in the unoccupied section of Latvia.  In opposition to
this government and to the landed barons' pro-German sympathies
stood, primarily, the Latvian Provisional National Council and
the Riga Democratic Bloc.  These and other political parties
formed the Latvian People's Council which, on November 18, 1918,
declared Latvia's independence and formed an army.

The new Latvian army faced rogue elements of the retreating
German army and engaged in civil war against the Soviet Red Army,
composed largely of former Latvian Riflemen.  Soviet power
resumed in Latvia one month later, on December 17, by order of
the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, which forcefully
collectivized all land and nationalized all industries and
property.

By May 22, 1919, the resurgent German army occupied and
devastated Riga for several days.  The Latvian army managed to
win a decisive battle over the combined German-Red Army forces
and, thereafter, consolidated its success on the eastern Latgale
front.

These developments led to the dissolution of the Soviet Latvian
Government on January 13, 1920, and to a peace treaty between
Latvia and Soviet Russia on August 11 later that year.  By
September 22, 1921, Latvia was admitted to the League of Nations.

Having obtained independent statehood in which Latvians were an
absolute majority, the government headed by Prime Minister
Ulmanis declared a democratic, parliamentary republic.  It
recognized Latvian as the official language, granted cultural
autonomy to the country's sizeable minorities, and introduced an
electoral system into the Latvian constitution, which was adopted
in 1922.

The decade witnessed sweeping economic reform, as war had
devastated Latvian agriculture and most Russian factories had
been evacuated to Russia. Economic depression heightened
political turmoil, and on May 15, 1934, Prime Minister Ulmanis
dismissed the parliament, banned outspoken and left-wing
political parties, and tightened authoritarian state control over
Latvian social life and the economy.

The effects of the infamous Molotov-Ribbentrop agreement steadily
forced Latvia under Soviet influence until August 5, 1940, when
the Soviet Union finally annexed Latvia.  On June 14 of the
following year, 15,000 Latvian citizens were forcibly deported
and a large number of army officers shot.  The subsequent German
occupation saw the mobilization of many Latvians into German
Waffen SS legions, while some Latvians joined the Red Army and
formed resistance groups; others fled to the West and East.  By
1945, Latvia' s population had dropped by one-third.

After the war, the U.S.S.R. subjected the Latvian republic to a
scale of social and economic reorganization which rapidly
transformed the rural economy to heavy industry, the Latvian
population into a more multiethnic structure, and the
predominantly peasant class into a fully urbanized industrial
worker class.

As part of the goal to more fully integrate Latvia into the
Soviet Union, on March 25, 1949, Stalin deported another 42,000
Latvians and continued to promote the policy of encouraging
Soviet immigration to Latvia.  The brief "Krushchev thaw" of the
1950s ended in 1959, when the Soviets dismissed Latvian Communist
Party and government leaders on charges of "bourgeois
nationalism" and replaced them with more aggressive hardliners,
mostly from Russia.

Perestroika enabled Latvians to pursue a bolder nationalistic
program, particularly through such general issues as
environmental protection.  In July 1989, the Latvian Supreme
Soviet adopted a "Declaration of Sovereignty" and amended the
constitution to assert the supremacy of its laws over those of
the U.S.S.R.  Pro-independence Latvian Popular Front candidates
gained a two-thirds majority in the Supreme Council in the March
1990 democratic elections.

On May 4, the Council declared its intention to restore full
Latvian independence after a "transitional" period; three days
later, Ivars Godmanis was chosen Council of Ministers Chairman,
or Prime Minister.

In January 1991, Soviet political and military forces tried
unsuccessfully to overthrow the legitimate Latvian authorities by
occupying the central publishing house in Riga and establishing a
"Committee of National Salvation" to usurp governmental
functions.  Three-fourths of all Latvian residents confirmed
support for independence on March 3 in a nonbinding "advisory"
referendum.  A large number of ethnic Russians also voted for the
proposition.

Latvia claimed de facto independence on August 21, 1991, in the
aftermath of the failed Soviet coup attempt.  International
recognition, including by the U.S.S.R., followed.  The U.S.,
which had never recognized Latvia's forcible annexation by the
U.S.S.R., resumed full diplomatic relations with Latvia on
September 2.


GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Latvia emphatically states that the Russian troop withdrawal
issue remains its highest priority and that its resolution will
exponentially speed economic and political reform.  Estimated
Russian troop strengths now are less than 7,000.  In October
1991, the Latvian Supreme Council began deliberations on a
citizenship law, which remains to be finalized.  Under the
accepted guidelines, those who were Latvian citizens in 1940 and
their descendants can claim citizenship.  Almost half of Latvia's
population is ethnically non-Latvian, yet perhaps more than 85%
of its ethnic Slavs can pass the residency requirement.  The
guidelines set naturalization criteria for conversational
knowledge of Latvian, a loyalty oath, renunciation of former
citizenship, a 16-year residency requirement, and a knowledge of
the Latvian constitution.

Dual citizenship is allowed for those who were forced to leave
Latvia during the Soviet occupation and adopted another
citizenship.  In addition, the resolution calls for excluding
criminals, drug addicts, members of the Soviet army, and certain
other groups from becoming citizens.

On March 19, 1991, the Supreme Council passed a law explicitly
guaranteeing "equal rights to all nationalities and ethnic
groups" which  "guarantees to all permanent residents in the
Republic regardless of their nationality, equal rights to work
and wages."  The law also prohibits "any activity directed toward
nationality discrimination or the promotion of national
superiority or hatred."

Significant portions of the 1922 constitution were temporarily
reinstituted in autumn 1991.  The government took a census in
spring 1993 to determine eligibility for citizenship.
Parliamentary gridlock in the former Supreme Council had halted
passage of any substantive political or economic legislation.

The Saeima, a unicameral legislative body, is the highest organ
of state authority.  It initiates and approves legislation
sponsored by the prime minister.  The prime minister has full
responsibility and control over the cabinet, and the president
holds a primarily ceremonial role as head of state.

In the June 5-6, 1993, elections, in which over 90% of the
electorate participated, 8 of Latvia's 23 registered political
parties passed the 4% threshold to enter parliament.  The Popular
Front, which spearheaded the drive for independence two years ago
with a 75% majority in the last parliamentary elections in 1990,
did not qualify for representation.  The centrist "Latvia's Way"
party received a 33% plurality of votes and joined with the
Farmer's Union to head a center/right-wing coalition government.

Led by the opposition National Conservative Party, right-wing
nationalists won a majority of the seats nationwide and also
captured the Riga mayoralty in the May 29, 1994, municipal
elections.  Correctly anticipating that it would do poorly, the
governing party, "Latvia's Way," spent few resources to contest
the elections.  Its coalition partner, "Farmers' Union," did well
in the countryside while former Foreign Minister Jurkans'
left-leaning "Concord for Latvia" took eastern Latvia.  European
observers pronounced the elections free and fair, and turnout
averaged just under 60%.

The popular and effective Foreign Minister, Georgs Andrejevs,
resigned in early June due to poor health and because of
accusations that he and four other members of parliament had
cooperated with the Soviet KGB prior to Latvia's independence.

On July 13, 1994, Prime Minister Birkaus and his cabinet
resigned, ostensibly over the withdrawal of the Farmer's Union
from the coalition because of a dispute on agricultural tariffs
and other policies.  While it appears certain the President will
not call new elections, it is unclear whether the current
government simply will remain in place with a few ministerial
replacements, or whether the National Conservative Party can
muster the support to form a new government.

National Security
Latvia's defense concept is based upon the Swedish-Finnish rapid
response model force.  The armed forces consist of border guards,
mobile infantry, special units, and an air force and navy whose
status has not fully been determined financially or
administratively.  The zemessardze, or home guard, is an
autonomous, volunteer paramilitary organization which also
performs traditional national guard duties and assists the border
guards.  Special independent interior ministry, intelligence, and
civil defense units also exist.  Active-duty defense forces will
stand at 9,000.  There is a mandatory one-year draft period of
active duty, and alternative conscription for conscientious
objectors is available.

Principal Government Officials
President--Guntis Ulmanis
Prime Minister--Valdis Birkavs
Minister of Foreign Affairs--vacant

Latvia maintains an embassy in the United States at 4325 17th
Street, Washington DC 20011 (tel:  [phone]).


ECONOMY
For centuries under Hanseatic and German influence and then
during its interwar independence, Latvia used its geographic
location as an important East-West commercial and trading center.
Industry served local markets, while timber, paper, and
agricultural products comprised Latvia's main exports.
Conversely, the years of Russian and Soviet occupation tended to
integrate Latvia's economy to serve those empires' large internal
industrial needs.

Today, Latvia's economy still remains heavily dependent upon the
markets of the states of the former Soviet Union.  Other than in
peat, timber, and gravel, Latvia is deficient in most natural
resources and relies upon trade with its former Soviet neighbors
to provide 91% of its energy needs.  Freed prices, including
once-rationed food items and fuel, now are reaching market
levels, and most small businesses and farms have been formally
privatized or are operating as such.  Industrial production
dropped 35% in 1992, and the urban, resident non-citizen Russian
work force--which dominates Latvia's highly diversified but
inefficient industrial sector--may face significant unemployment
and economic displacement once Latvia undertakes deeper necessary
reforms.

As a result, Latvians' standard of living and purchasing power
has fallen catastrophically.  As a new member, Latvia received
critical loans from the IMF and World Bank, as well as from
G-24 nations, in order to stave off critical energy, medicinal,
and feed grain shortages and financial shortfalls caused by the
disruption of traditional Soviet markets.

The monetary situation has stabilized, with monthly inflation
less than 2% in accord with IMF plans and hard currency reserves
in excess of $320 million.  Last year, Latvia began issuing its
own freely convertible currency, the lats, which replaced the
interim currency, the Latvian ruble.

In 1993, Latvia exported to the U.S. $23 million worth of goods
and imported $90 million of goods and services.   American firms
registered $35 million out of a total $110 million in foreign
investment.  The U.S. is the largest Western investor in Latvia.
Private businesses are booming, with over $75 million in foreign
investment last year, and the government has recreated over
50,000 private farms.  With 48% of the populace, ethnic Slavs
control about 80% of the economy.


FOREIGN RELATIONS
Latvia became a member of the United Nations on September 18,
1991, and is a signatory to a number of UN and other
international organizations and relationships.  It also is a
member of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe
and of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council.  Latvia is
unaffiliated directly with any political alliance but welcomes
further cooperation and integration with NATO, the European
Union, and other Western organizations.  It also seeks more
active participation in United Nations peace-keeping efforts
worldwide.

Latvia maintains embassies in the United States, Belarus,
Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania,
Sweden, the United Kingdom, and Russia.  It also operates
missions to the United Nations in New York City and a consulate
general in Australia.  Honorary consuls are located in Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Canada, Greece, India, Israel, Italy, South
Korea, Moldova, Norway, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Venezuela.

Relations with Russia are improving, primarily because Latvia and
Russia signed a troop withdrawal agreement on April 30 calling
for the withdrawal of Russia's remaining 4,000 troops from Latvia
no later than August 31, 1994.  In July, Latvia also passed a
naturalization law that could enable many of its resident
non-citizens to apply for citizenship within 10 years.

Latvia has agreed that Russia may continue to operate the Skrunda
radar facility under CSCE supervision strictly for a four-year
period.

The United States established diplomatic relations with Latvia on
July 28, 1922.  The U.S. legation in Riga officially was
established November 13, 1922, and served as the headquarters for
U.S. representation in the Baltics during the interwar era.  The
Soviet invasion forced the closure of the legation on September
5, 1940, but Latvian representation in the United States has
continued uninterrupted for over 70 years.  The U.S. never
recognized the forcible incorporation of Latvia into the U.S.S.R.
and views the present Government of Latvia as a legal
continuation of the interwar republic.  Latvia has enjoyed
most-favored-nation (MFN) treatment with the U.S. since December
1991.  It annually receives approximately $6 million in
humanitarian and medical aid, technical assistance, and
professional training, along with having received about $38
million in feed grain credits from the U.S. since 1991.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Ints Silins
Economic Officer--Constance Phlipot
Political Officer--Douglas Wake
Administrative Officer--Susan Pazina
Consular Officer--Ellen Conway
AID Director--Baudouin de Marcken
Public Affairs Officer--Philip Ives

The U.S. embassy in Latvia is located at Raina Boulevard 7, Riga
(tel. [phone]).





TRAVEL NOTES
Customs:  Latvian tourist visas may be obtained at certain road
border-crossings and at Riga Airport.  However, the U.S. embassy
strongly recommends that all visitors obtain visas from the
Latvian embassy in Washington, D.C. (or in major Western European
capitals) before departure.  The embassy charges a $10 mail
processing fee for visas.  Visitors are encouraged to register at
the U.S. Embassy. Lithuanian visas are also valid for entry into
Latvia.

Unlimited hard currency, 1 liter of alcohol, 200 cigarettes, and
foodstuffs valued at less than one month's minimum wage (3,000
rubles) may be imported; $125 worth of goods not regulated by
Latvian or international law requiring special permission may be
imported.  Export regulations cover hard currency (in
unrestricted amounts) and foodstuffs worth less than 10 monthly
minimum wages).  Articles purchased in Latvia for hard currency
must be accompanied by a receipt.

Climate and clothing:  Latvia's climate enjoys seasons of almost
equal length.  Riga and the coast are temperate, with pleasant,
cool summers and damp winters; eastern Latvia is continental,
with warmer summers and harsher winters.

Health:  Medical care does not meet Western standards and faces
severe shortages of basic medical supplies, including disposable
needles, anesthetics, and antibiotics.  Recent disruption of
energy supplies has decreased the availability of heat and hot
water.  Raw fruits and vegetables are safe to eat, but avoid
drinking unpasteurized milk and tap water.

Transportation:  Several international airlines, including SAS
and Lufthansa, provide service between European cities and Riga
airport. Train service is available via Moscow, St. Petersburg,
and Warsaw/Frankfurt, and a bus line connects the Baltic capitals
with Warsaw.  Bus and taxi services within the capital and its
environs are good.  Taxis are inexpensive and available at
stands, or may be ordered by phone.  Rental cars are available.
Gasoline prices are reaching market rates.

Telecommunications:  Improved telephone and telegraph services
are readily available at standard international rates.  Riga is 7
hours ahead of eastern standard time.





Further Information

These titles are provided as a general indication of material
published on this country.  The Department of State does not
endorse unofficial publications.

Berkis, Alexander V.  The History of the Duchy  of Courland,
1561-1795.  Baltimore:  Paul M. Harrod, 1969.

Bilmanis, Alfreds.  A History of Latvia.  Princeton:  Princeton
University Press, 1951; reprinted Westport, CT:  Greenwood Press,
1970.

Ekmanis, Rolf.  Latvian Literature Under the Soviets, 1940-1975.
Belmont, MA:  Nordland Publishing Company, 1978.

Jegers, Benjamins.  Bibliography of Latvian Publications
Published Outside of Latvia, 1940-1960, 2 volumes.  Stockholm:
Daugava, 1968/1972.

Rodgers, Mary M., , and Tom Streissguth, eds.  Latvia:  Then and
Now.  Minneapolis:  Lerner Publications Company, 1992.

Rutkis, Janis, ed.  Latvia:  Country and People.  Stockholm:
Latvian National Foundation, 1967.

Urdzins, Andrejs, and Andris Vilks, eds.  The  Baltic States:  A
Reference Book.  Riga:  Encyclopedia Publishers, 1991.

Williams, Roger, ed.  Baltic States:  Insight Guides.  Boston:
Houghton-Mifflin Company, 1993.

For information on economic trends, commercial development,
production, trade regulations, and tariff rates, contact the
International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce,
Washington, DC  20230 at [phone], or any Commerce
Department district office.  For information on business
opportunities, call the Commerce Department's East European
Business Information Center at [phone].





Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau of
Public Affairs -- Office of  Public Communication -- Washington,
DC    August 1994 -- Managing Editor:  Peter A. Knecht -- Editor:
Peter Freeman

Department of State Publication 10195 -- Background Notes Series
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.