Its declared policy of "complementarity" between Russia and the West notwithstanding, Armenia entered on April 26-27 into an agreement to form a "joint group of forces" with the Russian troops based in the country (see the Monitor, May 1). That step places Armenia on a... MORE

A visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan to Moscow this past weekend gave an additional boost to the strategic partnership which binds Russia and China and set the stage for what could be a pivotal summit meeting between the presidents of the two countries... MORE

May 1 in the Russian capital was marked with the traditional May Day demonstrations by trade unions and parties of the leftist "opposition." Some 30,000 people participated. The largest of the demonstrations, involving an estimated 15,000-20,000 people, was organized by Russia's trade unions, whose members... MORE

Five Chechens were killed yesterday during a confrontation with Russian Interior Ministry troops. The incident took place near the village of Zakan-Yurt, after the troops stopped a car for inspection. The five people inside the car reportedly "resisted" and were killed. Two grenade launchers and... MORE

On April 27, Patriarch Aleksy II of Moscow and All Russia addressed a conference on "Religion and Diplomacy," organized in the Russian capital by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Aleksy pledged Orthodox Church support to Russia's "peacekeeping" efforts in the CIS and resistance to a "unipolar... MORE

Georgia spent much of 2000 wrestling with a serious budgetary crisis, and a severe drought which reduced agricultural production by some 15 percent added further gloom to the country's economic outlook. Nonetheless, a 39-percent surge in exports saved the economy from recession, as 2 percent... MORE

In remarks to reporters made in Moscow back on April 6, the Japanese ambassador to Russia suggested that the resignation announcement of then Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, which was expected to be followed by a reshuffling of the Japanese government, would have little or no... MORE

The campaign for governor of Nizhegorod Oblast is attracting particular attention from politicians and journalists. Located in the upper Volga region, this is economically one of Russia's strongest regions. In the early 1990s, the economist Grigory Yavlinsky joined forces with the governor of the oblast... MORE

Dmitry Savelev--considered incumbent Governor Ivan Sklyarov's main challenger in the Nizhegorod Oblast election--controls several of the oblast's newspapers, television companies and radio stations. Other newspapers have recalled the scandals which dogged Savelev when he headed Transneft, the state oil pipeline company. According to one such... MORE

The Security Councils' secretaries of countries signatory to the CIS Collective Security Treaty--Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan--conferred on April 26-27 in Yerevan on the development of "regional security systems" and "joint groups of forces." The overall concept envisages three regional systems and groups:... MORE