A public opinion poll conducted between 17 and 24 April by Moscow's respected All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) indicates that incumbent President Boris Yeltsin would win a straight fight against Communist party candidate Gennady Zyuganov. Thirty-one percent of those questioned said... MORE

Communist presidential candidate Gennady Zyuganov has also responded positively to the bankers' appeal, expressing willingness to hold negotiations with other candidates. Yesterday, Zyuganov published an open letter outlining three measures that would, he says, ward off the danger of civic strife. These are (1) constitutional... MORE

Presidential aide Georgy Satarov says Russian president Boris Yeltsin plans shortly to hold a series of consultations with opposition leaders, including representatives of the Russian Communist party. Satarov said the president had reacted positively to last week's appeal by thirteen leading Russian bankers, calling on... MORE

Norway's Defense Ministry announced yesterday that Russian defense minister Pavel Grachev has accepted an invitation to attend a meeting of Nordic defense chiefs in Norway May 20-21. The agenda reportedly will include the future of the peace Implementation Force in Bosnia, NATO enlargement, planned Partnership... MORE

Ukrainian foreign minister Hennady Udovenko yesterday called for the creation of a nuclear-free zone in the Black Sea basin -- "a very important region for Ukraine's security." Udovenko was speaking on the eve of a meeting of foreign ministers of Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization... MORE

Belarus parliament chairman Semyon Sharetsky and the chairmen of the two chambers of the Russian parliament, Gennady Seleznev and Yegor Stroyev, signed yesterday in St. Petersburg an agreement establishing an Interparliamentary Assembly of the Russia-Belarus Community (SSR). To be chaired by Sharetsky and comprised of... MORE

Russian Duma International Affairs Committee chairman Vladimir Lukin charged at a news conference in Riga yesterday that Latvia infringes on the human rights of its "Russian-speaking" population and that "certain Latvian politicians' striving for NATO membership" runs counter to Latvia's own national interests. (BNS, April... MORE

President Yeltsin has ordered Russia's security chiefs to take the "toughest possible measures" to ensure that Chechen rebels do not launch terrorist attacks in the Russian capital over the nine-day holiday period that starts in Russia tomorrow. Yeltsin's press secretary said Yeltsin met Friday with... MORE

Chechen resistance representatives yesterday and this morning dismissed claims in Moscow and Grozny that Djohar Dudaev's successor Zelimkhan Yandarbiev had been killed yesterday in Urus-Martan district. They also dismissed claims about internecine fighting among Chechen field commanders and about Shamil Basaev being appointed commander in... MORE

The head of regional administration in Tursunzade, Saidullo Mirzoyev, was the target of a failed assassination attempt April 26 in which his two bodyguards were wounded. Tajikistan's deputy minister of State Security, identified as Anatoly Kuptsov, announced that an investigation had been launched. President Imomali... MORE