The World - News from Aug. 31, 1989

Moldavian leaders tried to placate outraged minority groups by considering a watered-down version of a plan to make their native tongue the official language of the ethnically diverse Soviet republic. Legislative leaders, reportedly at the urging of Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, are leaning toward adopting the compromise to try to stop strikes by Russians and other groups opposed to the pending language law. The original proposal would make Moldavian the only official language of the republic. The compromise plan would make it the language of government officials and documents, while Russian would be the language for everyday contacts.