Keen to show he is back in control, Yeltsin yesterday issued a written appeal to the nation, saying that Russia is still scarred by divisions and calling for unity. "We are one nation. We have one fate, one future. And we are all from the... MORE

Boris Berezovsky, the former banker whose appointment to Russia's Security Council created an uproar last month, is back in the Ingush capital Nazran today for meetings with Chechen deputy prime minister Movladi Udugov. (Interfax, November 7) No details were released, but it is believed that... MORE

It was disclosed yesterday that the scheduled December 15 launch of a replacement crew for the Mir space station has been delayed until February. The previous crew change also had to be delayed for the same reasons: not enough money to pay for the construction... MORE

At a three-day meeting in Bishkek, which ended yesterday, Defense Ministry officials from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan reviewed progress in creating a Central Asian peacekeeping battalion. It is to be comprised of troops from these three countries and earmarked for UN-sponsored operations. The meeting adopted... MORE

United Tajik Opposition first deputy chairman Akbar Turajonzoda told The Monitor by telephone that the UTO persists in seeking negotiations toward a power-sharing agreement with the Dushanbe government. "That's how it is in all countries after a civil war. In Angola for example, or Cambodia.... MORE

At a conference in Tokyo last week, World Bank and donor countries' representatives agreed to lend Tajikistan $185 million in 1997 and to consider additional credits in order to "maintain stability and sustain economic reforms." Tied to an IMF-approved reform program, the funds will be... MORE

Doctors treating Russian president Boris Yeltsin say he is making "surprisingly good" progress, but have advised him to stay for an additional 24 hours in the clinic where he underwent surgery on November 5. Yeltsin, who is already up and walking, had asked to be... MORE

Russia's deputy agriculture minister has dismissed media allegations that Russia intends to purchase large quantities of food abroad. The deputy minister said that grain harvested this year exceeds last year's level by 8 percent, and that no supply problems are foreseen with regard to other... MORE

Forecasts by Russia's Ministry of Economics indicate that defense spending in Russia could rise from its current level of 3.7 percent of GDP to as much as 5.5 percent by the year 2000. That forecast is reportedly predicated upon the ability of the government to... MORE

Russia's recently named General Staff chief has indirectly criticized Defense Ministry plans to reduce Russia's army to 1.2 million soldiers before 1998. Gen. Viktor Samsonov said on November 1 that the General Staff prefers to maintain the army at 1.5 million. (Interfax, November 1) The... MORE