In a broad overview of Moscow's foreign and security policies published recently in a Russian daily (s ee Monitor, October 24), Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov seems to signal that, despite its enduring opposition to NATO enlargement, Moscow may indeed be inching toward an accommodation with... MORE

On September 14, 1954, the Soviet Union conducted its 8th nuclear explosion, an atmospheric burst over the southern foothills of the Urals at the Totsk test site midway between what are now again called Orenburg and Samara. The Soviets made no announcement at the time,... MORE

Heavy smoke from a short circuit filled a room in the Kremlin yesterday, but the problem was soon fixed and there was no fire. "For once, there was smoke without fire," President Boris Yeltsin's press secretary told a news conference. (AP, October 24) Yeltsin Calls... MORE

In his weekly radio broadcast today, President Boris Yeltsin appealed for national unity and said he intends to remain in office for his full four-year term. Speaking from the sanitarium where he is preparing for heart surgery, Yeltsin instructed his ministers to stop bickering and... MORE

The International Monetary Fund is withholding the latest monthly tranche, worth $340 million, of its three-year $10 billion loan to Russia. According to a statement issued yesterday by the Russian Central Bank, the IMF is concerned at the Russian government's inability to raise enough revenue... MORE

Russia's Foreign Ministry yesterday applauded French president Jacques Chirac and the efforts of French diplomats to strengthen Europe's role in the Middle East peace process. A ministry spokesman said that Moscow and Paris were working together actively on Middle East issues. (Itar-Tass, October 24) During... MORE

The head of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Bosnia said in Brussels yesterday that IFOR should remain in Bosnia beyond the expiration of its current mandate on December 20. According to Col. Gen. Leonty Shevtsov, a withdrawal from Bosnia would lead to a renewal of... MORE

A high-ranking NATO official in Brussels yesterday expressed disappointment that Moscow has yet to take an active part in the alliance's Partnership for Peace program, and advised that only through participation could Moscow hope to influence relations between NATO and Russia. (Interfax, October 24) That... MORE

The Russian Navy employed an inexpensive means to get rid of one of its excess SS-N-20 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) on October 23 by firing it from a Northern Fleet Typhoon strategic submarine in the Arctic. The missile was programmed to self-destruct when it reached... MORE

The Russian government met yesterday and amended the draft 1997 federal budget to take account of parliament's demand for an increase in planned social spending. The new draft will now go to a conciliation commission made up of representatives of the government and parliament. (Itar-Tass,... MORE