With the expressed purpose of combating rising crime in the Russian armed forces, the Duma's defense committee has prepared a draft law that would both create an independent military police force and greatly strengthen the Federal Security Service's (FSB) crime-fighting role in the military. According... MORE

In the wake of Boris Yeltsin's recent electoral victory, Moscow and Tokyo appear set to launch yet another push at improving long stagnant bilateral relations. From the Japanese side, that readiness was signaled July 9 when Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto was reported to have indicated... MORE

Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin met for three hours July 9 with Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky. (RTR, July 9) The meeting took place against the background of Yeltsin's statement, made just before the second round of the election, that he viewed Yavlinsky as an "ally."... MORE

On July 10, President Boris Yeltsin made what was billed as his first official address to the nation since winning reelection. Yeltsin, who has not been seen in public since June 26, appeared on television looking better than he has for some time. He promised... MORE

After a two-year hiatus, the removal of spent nuclear fuel from submarines in Russia's Pacific Fleet has been resumed, a Russian official said yesterday. A special train carrying what the official described as highly durable containers has arrived in the Far East and will begin... MORE

Russian aviation and artillery yesterday attacked Makhety village in southwestern Chechnya, presumed site of the political leader of Chechen resistance, Zelimkhan Yandarbiev. The Russian command initially announced that its troops had been ordered to arrest Yandarbiev, then said that the purpose was to deliver "pinpoint... MORE

Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov said yesterday that while Moscow is prepared to pursue certain compromises in the regulation of conflicts within the CIS and with respect to CIS integration, it would make no compromises whatsoever with the Western military alliance. "Moscow does not intend... MORE

Cooperation in winning international approval of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, Russian ratification of START II, NATO enlargement, and Bosnia were among the topics discussed during a meeting in Washington July 9 between Russian deputy foreign minister Georgy Mamedov and U.S. deputy secretary of state... MORE

On an official visit to Minsk the Communist chairman of Russia's Duma, Gennady Seleznev, joined Belarus president Aleksandr Lukashenko in praising the Yeltsin-Lukashenko treaty to create the Russia-Belarus Community and urging its accelerated implementation. Seleznev also termed Lukashenko a "locomotive" in integration efforts. Lukashenko expressed... MORE

The Ukrainian parliament gave its approval June 10 to President Kuchma's re-nomination of Pavel Lazarenko as prime minister. Lazarenko and the rest of the government had been obliged to tender their resignations following the adoption of the new Ukrainian constitution June 28. (ORT, July 10)... MORE