Russian minister of economics Yevgeny Yasin said yesterday that Russia was not yet ready for membership as a full economic partner in the G-7 and that Moscow should not "force open the door" in an attempt to get into the organization. Yasin, who added that... MORE

Miners in Primorsky krai are continuing their strike, now on its twentieth day, despite the Russian government's urgent delivery of nearly $8 million to pay their overdue wages. The miners say they are owed at least three times that much. However, the government's worst nightmare... MORE

In southern Chechnya, Russian troops reported finding and destroying the printing shop of the resistance newspaper Ichkeria which has been distributed clandestinely in Russian-controlled territory. Twenty-one Russian soldiers were officially reported killed in Chechen counterattacks in last 72 hours. (Russian and Western agencies July 30... MORE

Azerbaijani presidential aides said yesterday that President Heydar Aliyev has complained to the Russian government about recent brutalities committed by Russia's Internal Affairs Ministry and Moscow police against Azerbaijani traders in Moscow and other Russian cities. The Azerbaijani officials appealed for an end to violence... MORE

The three Tajik former prime ministers who reemerged in Moscow (see Monitor, July 30), announced yesterday the formation of a National Revival Movement in "constructive opposition" to president Imomali Rahmonov's government. At a news conference in Moscow, Abdumalik Abdullojanov, Jamshed Karimov, and Abdujalil Samadov called... MORE

Anatoly Chubais has taken over the third-floor Kremlin office previously occupied by Yeltsin's aide Viktor Ilyushin, putting himself on the same floor as Yeltsin. He has assumed control over the president's aides and set up a new analytical department. Its members include Georgy Satarov, Vasily... MORE

German foreign minister Klaus Kinkel has reportedly demanded that Moscow grant Chechnya considerable autonomy within the framework of the Russian Constitution and expressed Bonn's displeasure over the resumption of military operations in the Caucasus following Russia's presidential election. Kinkel's strong words were delivered to Russian... MORE

Russian government spokesmen have expressed disappointment that the surge in investment they expected to follow President Yeltsin's reelection has not yet materialized. (Nezavisimaya gazeta, July 27) There are several reasons why investors are still jittery about parting with their money. The most obvious is the... MORE

The Russian government yesterday dispatched 45 billion rubles ($8.7 million) from the federal budget to Primorsky krai to pay back wages of striking miners and power workers. Satisfying the strikers there, Moscow hopes, will prevent the protest from spreading from the Far East to other... MORE

A Russian first deputy defense minister warns the West in the latest issue of Moskovskie novosti that, despite its current difficulties, Russia will find the necessary resources to respond militarily to NATO's planned eastward expansion. Andrei Kokoshin, the only civilian in the Russian Defense Ministry... MORE