Residents of Russia's Altai republic are going to demand that Kazakhstan close its Baikonur Cosmodrome, currently leased to Russia. Altai lies under the flight path of the space vehicles launched from Baikonur and over the past 40 years has been sprayed by an estimated 25,000... MORE

The Russian government has demanded that beef from three counties in the Republic of Ireland--allegedly contaminated by BSE ("mad cow" disease) -- be excluded from the most recent export protocol between the two countries. Moscow's action has outraged farmers and politicians in Ireland. The fact... MORE

The Jewish Agency, a non-governmental body that promotes Jewish culture and that has facilitated Jewish immigration to Israel, has been issued a license to operate once again in Russia. In April the Russian Justice Ministry had refused to renew the organization's registration. (Itar-Tass, October 17)... MORE

Ukrainian officials are expressing concern over the Russian Duma's overwhelming approval on first reading of a draft law "On halting the partition of the Black Sea Fleet." (See Monitor, October 17) Deputy foreign minister Kostyantyn Hrishchenko told a briefing that Kiev is "particularly worried" by... MORE

Upon completion of his working visit to Moscow (see Monitor, October 17), Belarus president Aleksandr Lukashenko stated that he had held "lengthy talks" with Russian defense minister Igor Rodionov on, among other issues, the joint activities of Russian and Belarusan air defense forces and border... MORE

Lithuania will elect a new parliament in two rounds of balloting on October 20 and November 10. Half of the total number of deputies are being elected under the proportional system based on party lists, and the other half in single-mandate constituencies. Twenty-four parties and... MORE

A joint session of the CIS Interstate Currency Committee and the Council of the Interstate Bank, held on October 16 in Moscow and chaired by Russian Central Bank president Sergei Dubinin, failed to adopt all three draft agreements on "deeper integration" presented by the Russian... MORE

U.S. defense secretary William Perry yesterday had far less success convincing Russian legislators that they should ratify the START II nuclear arms reduction treaty than he did when trying to accomplish the same mission before the U.S. Senate last January. Perry spent more than two... MORE

A series of surveys conducted by Moscow's VCIOM polling agency between May and September showed that public confidence in Lebed rose during the summer and has since remained stable, whereas confidence in the other two leading political figures, President Yeltsin and Communist party leader Gennady... MORE

There is confusion in Moscow today as to what Lebed's ouster will mean for negotiations between Russian and Chechen leaders. Lebed warned yesterday that his sacking could result in disaster for the Chechnya peace process. Chechen opposition leaders also reacted with alarm to signs that... MORE