Oil pipeline operators in Saratov oblast, 450 miles southeast of Moscow, say they have managed to localize a February 16 spill from the ruptured Samara-Tikhoretsk pipeline and that there is now no danger that more oil will pollute the River Volga, Russia's greatest waterway. (Itar-Tass,... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin gave beleaguered Russian defense minister Igor Rodionov a strong, public vote of confidence yesterday, but it was unclear after a 40-minute meeting between the two men whether the Kremlin had made any progress in its efforts to settle on a program for... MORE

U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright won confirmation in Bonn and Paris yesterday that the U.S., Germany, and France are united on the fundamental issue of NATO's enlargement. But, as expected, Albright was apparently unable to bridge differences with the two key U.S. allies on... MORE

The February 16 run-off elections to Chechnya's 63-member parliament have been declared valid, election officials said yesterday. Thirty deputies were elected in addition to the five elected in the first round on January 27, when a 900-candidate field made it hard to score the outright... MORE

The Russian government is under strong pressure from the IMF to break up the country's "natural monopolies" -- gas supply, railways, and electricity generation. Until now, the government has shown little will to regulate these powerful industries and what efforts it has made to diversify... MORE

Renegade commanders Bakhrom and Rizvon Sodirov released eight of their hostages over the weekend and indicated that they may release the last six today. The action followed negotiations with President Imomali Rahmonov, who arrived this morning in Obigarm, close to the Sodirovs' camp. The hostages... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin signed decrees on February 12 bringing the Transbaikal, Terek, and Siberian Cossacks into state service. They will be given a standard issue of weapons and will be permitted to join units of the Interior Ministry, Defense Ministry, and Border Troops. (NTV, February... MORE

President Leonid Kuchma called over the weekend for the formation of a "centrist bloc" -- based on the Ukrainian Popular Movement-Rukh and the New Ukraine organization -- in preparation for the parliamentary elections. Kuchma was addressing the congress of New Ukraine, held in Kiev under... MORE

Ambassador Feliks Kovalev, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Working Group on Caspian Legal Issues, denied yesterday that Moscow supports Turkmenistan's claim to Azerbaijan's giant "Azeri" and Chirag offshore oil fields. The Ministry's chief spokesman, Gennady Tarasov, had virtually endorsed that claim last week. (See... MORE

NATO secretary general Javier Solana completed his tour of four CIS countries in Baku, where he conferred February 13-14 with the Azerbaijani leaders and addressed the parliament. Solana pointed out -- as he had in Chisinau, Tbilisi, and Yerevan -- that an enlarged NATO will... MORE