Israel's ambassador to Russia announced yesterday that Boris Berezovsky, deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, does not have Israeli citizenship. The ambassador said a statement by the Israeli Foreign Ministry to that effect was forwarded to the Russian Foreign Ministry a week ago. She did... MORE

Discussion of the draft budget in the Russian Duma will not start until December 4. Seven tax laws have to be examined before consideration of the budget can begin. Approval of the budget by both chambers of the Russian parliament seems unlikely before the end... MORE

Nikolai Fedorov, the President of Chuvashiya, told visiting Japanese parliamentarians in Moscow yesterday that Russia should return the four disputed Kuril Islands to Japan. Fedorov, who is also deputy chairman of the Federation Council's International Affairs Committee, attributed Moscow's intransigence to misguided patriotism and Russia's... MORE

The unpublicized delivery to Peru of 12 MiG-29's from Belarus has reportedly raised fears of a regional arms race and is expected to intensify calls from U.S. arms manufacturers for the lifting of a U.S. ban on sales of high-tech weaponry to Latin America. Observers... MORE

Russia intends shortly to request that Belarus harmonize its tax legislation with Russia's in order to avoid distortions in trade, a representative of the Russian State Customs Committee said yesterday. Russia has introduced some changes in its taxes that have been not followed by Belarus,... MORE

Unknown gunmen attacked a Russian military post near the Khankala airport on the outskirts of Grozny November 20. Three servicemen were killed and two others were wounded. (ORT, November 20) The same day, two Russian servicemen were taken hostage. The Chechen field commander in charge... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin made his first television appearance yesterday following his heart surgery two weeks ago. Looking thin and moving stiffly but speaking clearly and confidently, Yeltsin was seen walking on the hospital grounds with his wife Naina, younger daughter Tatyana Dyachenko, and granddaughter Masha.... MORE

Vladimir Kadannikov, who in January of this year replaced Anatoly Chubais as first deputy prime minister in charge of Russia's economy, has returned to work at the Volga Auto Factory (VAZ). Until he joined the government, Kadannikov was director general of VAZ, Russia's biggest car... MORE

According to an affidavit filed by the FBI, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) may have inadvertently provided one of the clues that helped U.S. counterintelligence agents track down accused CIA spy Harold Nicholson. Ironically, the relevant exchange between the two intelligence services could not have... MORE

Government and military officials met in Moscow on November 19 at a conference on ensuring food supplies for the armed forces. As with most problems in Russia today, funding shortfalls were identified as the biggest hurdle. Deputy Economics Minister Ivan Starikov told the conference that... MORE