President Boris Yeltsin arrived in the far northern city of Arkhangelsk yesterday, on the latest leg of his election campaign. While there, he said that he will veto the land code adopted by the Communist- dominated Duma May 22 since it outlaws the sale of... MORE

The Russian government will take control of the troubled Unikombank, Russia's twelfth-largest private commercial bank and the largest so far to run into difficulty. (AP, May 24) The Russian Central Bank is determined to exert greater control over Russia's more than 2,000 commercial banks, many... MORE

While in Havana May 22 on the second leg of his three-nation Latin American tour, Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov met with Cuban president Fidel Castro. He traveled yesterday to Venezuela, where several bilateral documents were expected to be signed. (Itar-Tass, May 23) NEWS &... MORE

The European Union's executive trio (comprised of its current, immediate past, and next presiding country) issued yesterday in the name of the Union's 15 member countries a statement of support for Ukraine's "full integration in the family of European nations." It said that "Ukraine's independence... MORE

Ukrainian deputy prime minister Anatoly Kinnakh and Iran's economy and finance minister Morteza Mohammad signed May 21 and 22 in Tehran a package of economic agreements. The centerpiece is a trade agreement envisaging barter exchanges of Ukrainian wheat for Iranian oil, thus marking a step... MORE

Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov and his Cuban counterpart yesterday signed a declaration of principles of mutual relations and a cultural and scientific cooperation accord for 1996-1998. During the signing Primakov said that relations with Cuba were a high priority for Moscow and that he... MORE

The Latvian parliament will convene in special session June 18 to elect the country's president. That decision was reached by the parliamentary Factions' Council, which set the date in order to allow for more than one round of balloting before President Guntis Ulmanis' powers expire... MORE

Boris Nemtsov, governor of Nizhny Novgorod oblast, has urged President Yeltsin to enter into an electoral alliance with presidential candidate Aleksandr Lebed. (Interfax, May 22) Nemtsov said a Yeltsin/Lebed alliance would smooth the way for an alliance between Yeltsin and Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky. Nemtsov... MORE

Russia's beleaguered defense minister, rumored to be fighting for his job, voiced a direct appeal yesterday for military personnel to vote for the incumbent in the upcoming presidential election. During an inspection tour of the Urals Military District, Pavel Grachev told a meeting of officers... MORE

On May 22, the Russian Duma adopted in its second reading a bill on the transfer of power from one president to another. The Communist-supported bill seeks to block the possibility that if Gennady Zyuganov wins next month's presidential election, Boris Yeltsin will find some... MORE