Your news now June 7 1989
GORBACHEV TO ANNOUNCE SOVIET UNION'S FUTURE
June 7, 1989
MOSCOW (Reuters)

Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev will speak tonight about the future of the USSR. Gorbachev's speech is expected to frame a message of hope and determination for the Soviet people, fueled by the recent discovery of the largest oil reserve known to man, in Siberia.

Spokesmen for Gorbachev state that the Premier's address will be "radiant in its broad vision" for "present and future prospects" of the Soviet Union. Other sources admit that the speech will outline several bold new initiatives that would have been impossible only four months earlier, before the oil strike. A revitalized military is expected to be at the forefront of Gorbachev's objectives that will be discussed during the address.

The forecast for the Soviet Union had looked bleak in January, with rumors floating that Gorbachev was seeking advice on "glasnost" and "perestroika", economic reforms that would breathe life into the country's floundering economy at the cost of centralized control. In the past few months, debates have raged on whether such reforms would actually promote stability in the Soviet economy, as well as negative effects it would have on the Proletariat’s tenuous control over the Union.

The Siberian Find of February uncovered a tremendous oil field that dwarfs that of the Middle East. The oil field is conservatively estimated at being three times larger than the combined reserves of the Persian Gulf. The discovery of the field's "light, sweet crude oil" has already prompted an intense rise in foreign direct investment in Russia. In the next few months, economists predict that the Soviet Union's economy will stabilize. A drastic rebound will be affected once the Soviets can export from the oil field in any great quantity.

Sources say that it will take at least a year of fierce construction until the Soviet Union can build an infrastructure capable of dealing with wide-scale drilling and refining. Though many believe that the mere occurrence of "The February Find" has helped immeasurably already. The vast potential of such an oil reserve has already led to a resurgence of foreign investment by such companies as British Petroleum and Shell. Early reports of OPEC consultants from many Middle East countries being paid high fees by Moscow have begun to circulate. Economists expect other sectors of the economy, particularly industrial suppliers, to follow suit.

Interest from the Chinese has been noticed as well. "You can guarantee that they are going to watch this very closely" says Jim Wilkinson, former chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. "[The Chinese] have an economy ready to explode. A reserve of this size right outside of their back door is going to create some weather over there."

"The Siberian oil find will be the star of Gorbachev's speech, as well as it should be. " says James Marbury, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry. "Although the Premier's plans for the Soviet Union's future will be mostly rhetorical, the oil find lends the authority to make positive assertions."
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