IMF EXTENDS FIRST TRANCHE OF NEW LOAN TO RUSSIA.

The International Monetary Fund has extended to Russia about $340 million (233.63 million SDR, or special drawing rights — the Fund’s artificial currency) as the first tranche of the three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) approved by the Fund’s board of executive directors last week. (Interfax, April 3) Some $4.1 billion will be disbursed to Russia in the first year of the program, with declining amounts thereafter. The new loan is being awarded under the same terms as the previous one-year stand-by loan, that is, by means of monthly tranches; the progress of Russian economic reform will be continuously monitored by IMF officials.

Former Counterintelligence Officer to Oversee Cossack Troops.