World Notes SOVIET UNION

Long a source of grim jokes and bitter complaints by the Soviet public, the chronic shortage of many consumer goods has only worsened under perestroika. Nonetheless, the Kremlin has been reluctant to dip into its hard-currency reserves (around $40 billion, according to Western estimates) to buy consumer goods from the West. But faced with rising discontent, Deputy Minister of Trade Suren Sarukhanov announced last week that the Soviet Union has signed contracts with companies from ten foreign countries to supply products with a retail value of some $2 billion in the hopes of at least temporarily quelling demand. Among the items: 12 million pairs of women's boots, 300 million razor blades, 30 million pairs of panty hose, 10 million cassette tapes, 180,000 tons of soap powder and 10,000 tons of toothpaste.

Even the Soviet air force is getting into the act. Last week TASS reported that 60 military planes have been commissioned to speed produce from the southern farm belt to major cities. Said Colonel General Vyacheslav Yefanov, chief of Military Transport Aviation: "Combat readiness will by no means be reduced." But the long lines at the grocery store may be.