In a televised speech calling for "severe economy measures," Belarus president Aleksandr Lukashenko warned that he will require government and parliamentary officials to apply for presidential approval for any trip abroad. Lukashenko targeted primarily the members of parliament for allegedly wishing to travel abroad "at... MORE

Soldiers for Democracy, a reformist Russian military association, has urged its followers to vote for Boris Yeltsin in tomorrow's presidential election. Valentin Smirnov, a leader of the group, praised Yeltsin for his recent changes of policy and personnel in Russia's "power" ministries. He also said... MORE

Russia's Foreign Ministry yesterday welcomed what it described as the recent decision by Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic to resign, and warned against the use of any "strong arm operations" aimed at arresting the indicted war criminal. (Itar-Tass, July 1) The statement could set Moscow... MORE

Russia's navy said yesterday that it had "successfully" fired three ballistic missiles from nuclear submarines during a naval exercise conducted June 28 in the Sea of Okhotsk. According to naval sources, the missiles successfully hit their target--a military training area in the Barents Sea. (AP... MORE

A top Russian naval commander, suggesting that Russia faces a significant military threat from foreign naval forces, said June 30 that the country should have a fleet superior to that of any neighboring state. Vice Admiral Viktor Patrushev also said that Moscow was currently drafting... MORE

On an official visit to Ukraine, Japanese foreign minister Yukihiko Ikeda told President Leonid Kuchma and Prime Minister Lazarenko yesterday that Japan considers "independent Ukraine an important factor of international stability." The agenda of their talks included G-7 aid to Ukraine's energy sector, possible Japanese... MORE

"If the majority do not vote, the minority will win," the pro-Yeltsin Russian mass media are warning on the eve of tomorrow's runoff. The Public Opinion Foundation, widely acclaimed as the polling organization that made the most accurate predictions in the first round (see Izvestiya,... MORE

Security Council secretary Aleksandr Lebed told a press conference in Moscow today that Russia will tighten control over its borders and introduce tougher visa and passport requirements for citizens from former Soviet republics "and other countries." This will not be "a new Iron Curtain," Lebed... MORE

Yuri Baturin, Russian president Boris Yeltsin's national security advisor until his replacement by Aleksandr Lebed June 18, has suggested to a Russian daily that Lebed may choose ultimately to give up that post because the duties associated with it are primarily bureaucratic. Baturin portrayed Lebed... MORE

In the context of his remarks on Russia's unwillingness to consider any territorial concessions, Yeltsin also claimed that he had hoped during the presidential election campaign to visit the disputed Kuril Islands, and said that he still intends to make a trip there in the... MORE