Moscow reacted warily over the weekend to the Clinton Administration's announcement that Madeleine Albright, currently U.S. ambassador to the UN, will be nominated for the post of Secretary of State. Although Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov publicly described Albright as a "strong professional" and a... MORE

A crowd of barely 150 mostly elderly people gathered in Moscow December 8 to mark the fifth anniversary of the Belovezh accords that dissolved the USSR in 1991. No major opposition leaders attended and the small size of the crowd was seen as an indication... MORE

Nominations for presidential candidates in Chechnya closed at midnight on December 7. Each candidate now has until December 27 to submit a minimum of 10,000 signatures to the Central Election Commission. Chechen prime minister Aslan Maskhadov and First Deputy Premier Movladi Udugov have both officially... MORE

Speaking to journalists last week, Russian Security Council secretary Ivan Rybkin refused to support any of Chechnya's presidential candidates, saying that the elections are Chechnya's internal affair. Rybkin did, however, concede that Moscow is far from indifferent to the outcome. (Nezavisimaya gazeta, December 7) It... MORE

The nationwide strike by Russian coalminers enters its second week today. Thousands of miners remain on strike despite last week's promise by President Yeltsin that he will ensure back wages are paid as soon as he returns to work. Managers of the Russian coal company... MORE

According to a NATO military spokesman, Russian participation in NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) program has virtually ground to a halt. Russia was among the last countries to sign the program's Framework Document--waiting until some five months after it was open for signature in January... MORE

Top Ukrainian government officials stated in unison over the weekend that Kiev will react calmly but resolutely to Moscow's claim to Sevastopol (see Monitor, December 6), and will seek to continue Ukrainian-Russian negotiations on other issues. The Ukrainian parliament on December 6 adopted overwhelmingly a... MORE

According to an agreement signed on December 4, Russia's Gazprom will deliver to Ukraine 53 billion cubic meters of gas next year at a price of $80 per 1000 cubic meters. The agreement also determined the conditions under which Russian gas will transit Ukrainian territory... MORE

A coalition of political opposition and trade union groups staged a 3,000-strong rally and procession in central Almaty yesterday to protest economic conditions. Speakers and marchers urged the government to recognize the social costs of economic reform and to reorient policy "in favor of the... MORE

Tajik army, internal affairs, state security, and presidential guard troops launched an offensive into central Tajikistan over the weekend, recapturing the district center Komsomolabad and advancing eastward toward opposition-held Garm. However, the opposition retook Tavildara and pressured two passes that lead into southwestern Tajikistan's Hotlon... MORE