Chechen president-in-waiting Zelimkhan Yandarbiev and Prime Minister Aslan Maskhadov are cited as having told Georgian journalists this week that they seek a meeting with the Georgian leadership -- "any time, any place" -- to overcome differences and become "real allies" and "strategic partners." The two... MORE

President Akhsarbek Galazov of the Russian Federation's republic of North Ossetia has endorsed the planned presidential election in South Ossetia, the breakaway region of Georgia. In an address to the people of South Ossetia, Galazov also said he personally hoped for the election of a... MORE

Less than 24 hours after his heart by-pass operation, President Boris Yeltsin has taken back the presidential powers he had ceded to Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin during the surgery. (BBC World Service, November 6) Yeltsin, who signed the decree taking back his powers at 6... MORE

Yeltsin's surgery eclipsed yesterday's nationwide strikes, called to demand stronger social guarantees and payment of wage arrears now believed to total $8 billion. Workers took part in marches and demonstrations all over Russia. Union organizers claimed that some 15 million people had participated, while the... MORE

President Yeltsin has signed a decree giving the presidential administration a new role -- monitoring the "power ministries." These ministries, which include Defense, Internal Affairs and Security, are directly responsible to the president, although Yeltsin has subordinated them to the prime minister while he receives... MORE

The defense chiefs of South Korea and Russia have signed a memorandum on military cooperation that Moscow hopes will boost its arms sales to the Asian nation. The document, said to involve primarily military-technical cooperation, was signed in Moscow on November 4. Russia is angling... MORE

During a one-day visit to Moscow, Gen. John Shalikashvili, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed military cooperation between Russia and the U.S. with his Russian counterpart, Gen. Viktor Samsonov. The two were reported to have agreed on the future of the... MORE

The Ukrainian government has created a state-owned company to control arms exports. The new company, Ukrspetseksport will work to consolidate Ukraine's initial success in selling arms abroad. Cooperation with Russia in the defense sectors is also envisaged, including the creation of a Russian-Ukrainian financial group.... MORE

The Ukrainian military wants to use 159 tanks and 332 armored personnel carriers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant rather than scrap them as called for in the Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE) treaty. At an October 4 briefing in Kiev, the army's chief inspector,... MORE

Russia's Security Council met on November 4 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. Chechnya dominated the agenda. Chernomyrdin confirmed that Moscow is seriously considering creating a free economic zone (FEZ) in Chechnya. (RTR, NTV, November 4) This would be an unusual FEZ in... MORE