The Tajik opposition announced over the weekend that its forces had withstood another attack by government forces in central Tajikistan's Tavildara district. They claimed to have destroyed three government armored vehicles and one helicopter. The opposition also appealed for international assistance to the approximately 300... MORE

A long-overdue meeting of senior Russian and Chechen resistance delegations, held in Starye Atagi (southern Chechnya) June 28, produced disagreement on fundamental issues. The sides were unable to agree on the definition of such concepts as "special operations," "troop withdrawal," "demilitarization," and "unlawful possession of... MORE

The leaders of the Group of Seven meeting in Lyon, France, over the weekend issued what was described by diplomats as a deliberately low-key statement that was not an explicit endorsement of Boris Yeltsin but that did offer support for Russia's reforms and its commitment... MORE

In Yeltsin's absence, the spotlight fell on Aleksandr Lebed. Interviewed on Russian TV on June 29, the Kremlin's new security supremo said he hoped to become deputy president if Yeltsin was reelected. The post does not exist in the present constitution, having been eliminated by... MORE

In his June 29 television interview, Lebed indicated that he favors the idea of a coalition government including other presidential candidates such as Communist party leader Gennady Zyuganov, Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky, and even ultranationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky. The proposal sets him at odds with... MORE

Boris Yeltsin appeared on Russian Television today and appealed to voters to support his reelection bid. (BBC, July 1) Today is the last day of campaigning before Russia's July 3 presidential election runoff. Yeltsin had been out of public view for five days. Although Yeltsin... MORE

Yeltsin sought over the weekend to compensate for his failure to meet personally with Yavlinsky by giving an interview June 30 to the Interfax news agency. But the way the interview was handled (in the heavy-handed tradition of Soviet propagandists) only heightened suspicions that Yeltsin... MORE

Less than a week before the presidential election Boris Yeltsin did some tough talking on foreign policy. In an interview with Interfax yesterday he said that Moscow would make territorial concessions to no country, and that Russia intends to strengthen its naval presence in the... MORE

A Georgian court has sentenced the two Pachulia brothers, well-known Abkhaz fighters, to 15 years and 14 years imprisonment for crimes in connection with the forcible eviction of the Georgian population from Abkhazia in 1993. The Abkhaz authorities have recently captured in the Russian-patrolled security... MORE

Addressing a gathering of officials in Almaty, Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbaev called for intensifying the study of the English language in order to facilitate Kazakhstan's cooperation with foreign countries and improve the climate for foreign investment in Kazakhstan. (Interfax, June 28) Western Missionary Activity Worries... MORE