RUSSIA’S FINANCE MINISTRY SPREADS ITS WINGS.

The agency handling Russian diamond sales has been disbanded by presidential decree and its responsibilities assumed by the Russian Finance Ministry. Russia’s stockmarket watchdog, the Federal Securities Commission, has been downgraded from a ministerial-level body to a state committee subordinated to the Finance Ministry. (The Economist, August 31; BBC World Service, September 1)

Russian Defense Chief to Attend NATO Meeting.