Representatives of Slovak and Russian government ministries, meeting in Moscow on November 23 under the auspices of an intergovernmental commission, signed five accords, including one between the Slovak Economics Ministry and the Russia's Defense Industry Ministry. On the same day, representatives of the Slovak and... MORE

A federal grand jury has formally indicted CIA veteran Harold Nicholson on charges of conspiring to spy for Russia. According to the indictment, Nicholson delivered to Moscow "documents, photographic negatives, and information relating to the national defense." His espionage activities were said to have extended... MORE

The leader of the Russian Communist party, Gennady Zyuganov, has denounced the latest agreement signed by the prime ministers of Russia and Chechnya, saying it is unconstitutional and heralds the breakup of the Russian Federation. Zyuganov announced that the Communist faction in the Duma will... MORE

Chernomyrdin and Maskhadov met in Moscow only hours after President Boris Yeltsin ordered the withdrawal of the last two brigades of federal forces from Chechnya. These are the 101st brigade of Interior Ministry forces and the 205th brigade of Defense Ministry troops. (RTR, Interfax, November... MORE

The Russian parliament has called on President Yeltsin to suspend from duty his chief-of-staff, Anatoly Chubais, and First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Ilyushin, pending an investigation into allegations that the two were involved in covert funding of Yeltsin's presidential campaign and then tried to organize... MORE

Retired Russian general Aleksandr Lebed spoke on November 22 at the U.S.-Russia Business Council in Washington, DC. That same evening, an interview with Lebed was screened on the Jim Lehrer News Hour. Monitor correspondents who witnessed both events were struck by the contrast between them:... MORE

Addressing the UN General Assembly's Third Committee (which deals with human rights), Russia's UN ambassador, Sergei Lavrov, denounced Estonia and Latvia for "blatant violations of human rights" of their respective "Russian-speakers" and for failure to comply with OSCE standards in that area. Lavrov announced that... MORE

The Reform party's six ministers -- for foreign affairs, internal affairs, economics, transport and communications, education, and social affairs -- resigned from the Estonian government on November 22, following a party council's decision. Prime Minister Tiit Vahi and President Lennart Meri accepted the resignations. Vahi,... MORE

The parliament of Belarus on November 22 and 23 refused to ratify the "compromise" deal with president Aleksandr Lukashenko that Russia's leaders had brokered in Minsk on the night of November 21-22. (See Monitor, November 22) A majority of the deputies agreed with those who... MORE

While there has been some confusion about exact numbers and timing, the last Russian SS-25 mobile strategic nuclear missiles are apparently being withdrawn from Belarus. This means that President Aleksandr Lukashenko, who has hinted on several occasions that Minsk and Moscow might use the missiles... MORE