The Bellona Foundation, a Norwegian-based environmental organization, last week released its long-awaited report on the hazards posed to northwestern Russia and the adjoining Arctic region by the decommissioned nuclear reactors and nuclear waste storage dumps of Russian naval forces in the area. Entitled "The Russian... MORE

. The Congress of Russian Communities, the Democratic Party of Russia and the "Honor and Motherland" servicemen's association plan to unite in new movement called "For Truth and Order." Their respective leaders -- Dmitri Rogozin, Sergei Glazyev and Aleksandr Lebed -- say they will sign... MORE

Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin gave his backing yesterday to the Khasavyurt accords signed on August 31 by Kremlin security chief Aleksandr Lebed and Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov. (See Monitor, September 3 for details of the accords.) More to the point, Chernomyrdin said President... MORE

A Russian newspaper reports that a presidential decree has been drafted which would deprive military personnel of a host of non-salary payments and other benefits granted to them by law. The newspaper suggests that the decree, if issued, could trigger a collapse of the military's... MORE

Russia's well-known human rights activist Sergei Kovalev is expected soon to undergo heart surgery in the United States. The 66-year-old Kovalev suffered a serious heart attack two months ago. (Interfax, September 3) Joint Naval Exercises Under Way.

Naval ships of the three Baltic states are currently participating in two joint exercises with the navies of NATO and other friendly countries. The Open Spirit '96 war games began on September 2 off Germany's Baltic coast, and include German, Danish, Swedish, and Polish ships.... MORE

Washington yesterday urged Russia to use "whatever influence it has in Baghdad" to help win a withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kurdish areas in the north. State Department officials told reporters that Moscow had also been informed well in advance of U.S. plans to take... MORE

Employees of Russia's largest commercial aircraft producer blocked traffic in Ulyanovsk on September 2 in a protest action over wage arrears. Workers at Aviastar have not been paid for five months. In addition, the government reportedly owes the company 40 billion rubles -- twice the... MORE

The head of Russia's Federal Border Service, General Andrey Nikolaev, has issued instructions easing the restrictions on the entry of Azerbaijani citizens into the Russian Federation across the two countries' land border. The new rules allow women, children, and pensioners to pass. Other Azerbaijanis may... MORE

Opening the new session of Kazakhstan's parliament yesterday, President Nursultan Nazarbayev urged it as a matter of high priority to "correct" the country's customs and tax legislation in order to increase incentives to foreign investment. Nazarbayev announced that foreign investment in Kazakhstan exceeded $1.5 billion... MORE