They are being taken at a time when we have begun to resolve vital issues of the Soviet federation on a really democratic basis.

Real outlines of a new Soviet federation begin to emerge.

These members said "the logic of the democratization of the Soviet federation" would eventually lead to similar steps in other republics.

Mr. Gorbachev has promised for many months to redraw the basic rules of the Soviet federation.

He would like to buy some time while he tries to invent a new and looser kind of Soviet federation that might slow the exodus.

It is a danger to our statehood, to the Soviet federation, which has been approved by a majority.

Nations and ethnic groups, similarly, would have equal rights, at least within the Soviet federation.

Mr. Gorbachev promised a "profound transformation of the Soviet federation" to give people more control over their local affairs.

Last weekend, Latvian nationalists accepted an unspecified transition period, during which they will stay within the Soviet federation.

McMullen, however, offered three other reasons why the the Soviet federation might let some players go.