Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and Russia's chief rabbi were present October 7 when the ground was broken for a new Moscow synagogue. This will be the first synagogue built in Russia since the Bolshevik Revolution. It will be dedicated to the memory of the... MORE

A Vilnius court yesterday began the trial of six leaders of the former Lithuanian Communist party/CPSU, including First Secretary Mikolas Burokiavicius and Ideological Secretary Juozas Jermalavicius. The six are accused of being co-organizers and executants of the January 1991 Soviet crackdown in Lithuania. Approximately 40... MORE

Following Moscow's promulgation yesterday of a declaration rejecting all territorial claims on the Russian Federation, the Japanese Embassy in Moscow said that the territorial dispute between Russia and Japan over ownership of the Kuril Islands remains unresolved. An Embassy spokesman suggested that the declaration was... MORE

Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma charged yesterday that, in disclaiming any Russian intent to veto NATO's enlargement, Aleksandr Lebed had merely "said what had to be said" during his recent visit to NATO headquarters. (See perspective item below) Kuchma expressed concern lest NATO's enlargement be accompanied... MORE

A top Kremlin spokesman refused even to comment last night on rumors that Boris Yeltsin's health had taken a sharp turn for the worse and that the Russian president might even have died. "We don't even consider it necessary to comment on these reports," said... MORE

Russian deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin, just back from talks in Japan, said on October 8 that Moscow will continue its gradual withdrawal of troops from the disputed Kuril Islands. There are currently 3,500 troops on the islands, he said, excluding border forces personnel not... MORE

A Tbilisi court yesterday sentenced former defense minister Tengiz Kitovani to 8 years in prison, former deputy prime minister Irakly Surguladze to 21 months incarceration (already served in pretrial detention), and a Russian citizen, Valery Fisun, to 6 years imprisonment, on charges of organizing an... MORE

Prime Minister Andrei Sangheli, who represented Moldova at the IMF's annual plenary meeting in Washington and also held talks at the World Bank last week, has reported to his government that donor countries have already pledged $150 million in loans and aid to support Moldovan... MORE

The "organizing committee of an extraordinary congress of the Lezgin people" yesterday threatened to launch a campaign for Lezgin rights that could include "armed struggle." Although it charges that the Lezgin suffer discrimination on both sides of the Russia-Azerbaijan border, the statement in fact targeted... MORE

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's chief cartographer, Col. Vyacheslav Zhihulin, said yesterday that the latest session of the Ukrainian-Russian border delimitation commission had achieved no results because the Russian delegation lacked authorization to resolve the issues at hand. Simultaneously, according to Zhihulin, Romania has stopped demarcation... MORE