If Russian press reports are to be believed, the functions of a key department within the General Staff's Main Operational Directorate--the department tasked with the planning, use and development of the ground forces--are to be transferred to the Ground Forces main command. In addition, the... MORE

A group of new young officers in Chechnya's police force were sworn in yesterday (May 9) in Djohar (Grozny), the republic's capital. The swearing-in ceremony was timed to coincide with Victory Day, marking the 56th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. On... MORE

On May 9, federal forces completed their special operation in the Chechen town of Argun. The operation began on May 7, when a federal troop column was fired on in the town. Federal Security Service (FSB) Public Relations Center chief Aleksandr Zdanovich claimed yesterday that... MORE

In his current weekly analysis from Yerevan, seasoned local analyst David Petrosian suggests that a resolution by the Armenian parliament has just doomed in advance the upcoming round of negotiations to settle the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. He also suggests that the parliament's action may have had... MORE

The overdue summit of GUUAM has been rescheduled for May 28-29 and will be held in Yalta, Ukraine. President Vladimir Voronin of Moldova and Azerbaijani diplomats announced the summit's date and its venue on May 4 and 7, respectively (Basapress, May 4; Turan, May 7).... MORE

Moscow's moves to rebuild ties with former Soviet client states, including some the United States considers "rogue" nations, continued over the weekend during Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov's visit to Libya. During his two days of talks in Tripoli, Ivanov reiterated Russia's intention to reestablish wide-ranging... MORE

Top Russian government officials met in the Stavropol Krai city of Essentuki on May 5 to discuss the military operation in Chechnya and the security situation in the surrounding regions. The meeting was chaired by Nikolai Patrushev, director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), who,... MORE

A battle took place on May in the city of Argun, located twenty kilometers from Djohar (Grozny), the Chechen capital. According to eyewitnesses, federal troops blocked exits from the city in the direction of Djohar, Gudermes and Shali, after which gunfire and explosions from grenade... MORE

The Communist revanche in Moldova, followed by an international communist congress in Chisinau of a kind not seen since Soviet days, is only the most visible symptom of a growing assertiveness by communist parties in a number of post-Soviet countries. With the partial exception of... MORE

As predicted, moderate rightists in Ukraine's National Salvation Forum (NSF) have rejected the idea of a referendum to remove President Leonid Kuchma from office (see the Monitor, April 11). Outspoken oppositionist and NSF co-founder Former Deputy Premier Yulia Tymoshenko, speaking for the opposition as a... MORE