"It is a special day in the history of domestic journalism," upper chamber chairman Yegor Stroyev said in a front-page address launching Parlamentskaya Gazeta (Parliamentary Newspaper).

"The people's deputies now have a solid platform for an active dialogue with the electorate," Gennady Seleznyov, the head of the State Duma, the lower house, wrote.

Many Russians see parliament as nothing more than a noisy, expensive talking shop where lawmakers worry more about keeping their perks than about helping to run the country. Power under the post-Soviet constitution lies mostly with the president.

The Federation Council - the upper house -- groups regional leaders while the Duma is currently dominated by Communist and nationalist opponents of President Boris Yeltsin.

Deputy chief editor Vladimir Klimov said parliamentarians would have the opportunity to air their views in the newspaper but said most space would be devoted to publishing new laws and providing
high-quality news.

"We will not just be a parliamentary newspaper, but a general political publication," Klimov said. "Besides, showing how parliament works may be exciting, even sensational."

The newspaper will initially appear once a week but will later be distributed on a daily basis mostly to subscribers, Klimov said. He said 20,000 copies would be printed in the initial phase, rising to
150,000 by the end of the year.

There are thousands of newspapers in Russia, including about 70 national publications, but circulation rarely exceeds a few hundred thousand copies, far below that of some British or Japanese dailies
where sales run into millions of copies.

Russians enjoy reading tabloids but are not devoted newspaper readers, so launching a new broadsheet is risky.

"We have studied the market a lot. The most important thing is that we will be publishing laws. It will create a good subscriber base for our newspaper. Government officials and businessmen will want to
read us for that," Klimov said.

Rossiiskaya Gazeta is the official government paper which publishes new laws and government decrees. But Klimov said this would now only publish decrees and resolutions.

He said his paper would try to abstain from inter-party bickering and would show no bias towards any particular party. "We are against any extremism, right or left," he added.

However, it may be difficult to be neutral for an official newspaper of the Russian parliament, known for its conservative views and opposition to the Kremlin line.

Thursday's eight-page edition included an analysis of last month's clash between the government and parliament, letters by both houses of parliament to President Yeltsin, a long story on police corruption
and a small sports section.

In its format it did not differ significantly from many other publications.

The newspaper is funded by the federal government as a parliamentary newspaper but Klimov said this money was not enough to cover all expenses.

He said the newspaper would try to finance itself through advertising and state funding as it did not want to become one of the many publications funded by powerful financial groups protecting their
own interests.

"What we do not want to do is to immediately start dancing to their tune," Klimov said. ( (c) 1998 Reuters)