On 5 March, theUSSRSupremeSoviet approved a draft law which would transfer control ofthe KGB from theUSSR Cabinet of Ministers to theUSSR President and SupremeSoviet as well as provide legal immunity for KGB officers from Soviet citizens.
It would permit elections to be held for the presidency oftheUSSR, theSupremeSoviet and other bodies, thereby creating an opportunity to forge the national consensus required to make the harsh sacrifices attendant to systemic transformation.
Also on 21 March, theUSSRSupremeSoviet voted to make the results ofthe March 17 referendum on the future oftheSoviet Union binding on all 15 Union republics.
Gorbachev's order yesterday banning demonstrations follows, and is of a piece with, recent action by theUSSRSupremeSoviet -- an organization whose anti-democratic coloration is becoming more evident daily.
Also on 7 March, Gorbachev urged theUSSRSupremeSoviet last week to forbid unauthorized foreign trips by members ofthe liberal parliamentary opposition, on the grounds that certain reform-minded deputies have been urging the West to deny credits to the central government.