Creation of a CIS Antiterrorism Center topped Russia's agenda at the June 19-21 CIS summit. The result fell short of Moscow's expectations. Member countries differed over the proposed center's functions, size and financing. They ultimately agreed to creating a consultative, not an operational structure. The... MORE

The big news of the fortnight was the arrest of Most-Media chief Vladimir Gusinsky, his incarceration in Butyrka (Moscow's notorious remand prison) and his subsequent release. The arrest happened when the media magnate dropped by the Prosecutor General's Office to answer questions connected with the... MORE

?While few observers bought Putin's claim to have been in the dark about Gusinsky's arrest, a more legitimate question was whether the move had been made at the Russian head of state's behest, or whether it had been initiated by other forces within the Kremlin.... MORE

Amid the political shenanigans in Moscow, the Kremlin's "Putin-era" diplomatic offensive continued over the past fortnight as the Russian president followed up earlier EU-Russian and Russian-U.S. summit talks with state visits to Spain and Germany. In addition, Moscow announced that Putin would make a ground-breaking... MORE

"Despite a rocky start to his European trip, occasioned by criticism of Gusinsky's arrest in Moscow, Putin appeared to get much of what he wanted in Berlin. In public at least, the German side had little to say about the Gusinsky case, and officials also... MORE

?If the Kremlin's new missile defense initiatives were successful at turning up the heat on Washington and at exploiting differences on these issues between the United States and its European allies, they may have had at least one unforeseen negative consequence for Moscow, however. The... MORE

Sergei Kovalev, one of the embattled handful of democratic deputies in Russia's Duma, developed his views on Russia-Baltic relations at international conferences on June 12-14 in Vilnius and on June 15-16 in Tallinn. Kovalev, the closest disciple of the late Andrei Sakharov and former human... MORE

On June 16-17, Russian President Vladimir Putin paid a "working visit" to Moldova--the first by a Russian president since 1991. The visit aimed to recoup at least part of the political influence which Moscow had lost during nine years of Moldovan independence. Transdniester's secession and... MORE

?The fortnight saw the first serious expressions of unhappiness with President Vladimir Putin's plans to bring Russia's eighty-nine regions under stricter control by the Center. The first sign of resistance in this area came from what was, at first glance anyway, an unexpected source: Boris... MORE

?Surprisingly, perhaps, Boris Nemtsov, the head of the Union of Right-Wing Forces' (SPS) faction in the Duma, joined the governors in criticizing Putin's initiatives. Nemtsov said the plans smacked of "political adventurism," adding that while the regional leaders should not have immunity from prosecution, it... MORE