There are two schools of thought about how the problem should be dealt with. One is the orthodox view, shared by reformist Russian economists and Western bankers, that Russia has too many weak banks and that it would do no harm if several were merged,... MORE

The president of the Association of Russian Banks, Sergei Yegorov, told the association's congress in Moscow on Monday that the Russian banking system has been in serious crisis since the middle of last year. (Financial Times, April 9; see also the article by Yegorov in... MORE

Amber Valley 96, an exercise of Lithuanian troops under the supervision of U.S. military officers, got underway this week at Panevezys in central Lithuania and will continue for several weeks. It focuses on planning and executing rapid deployment and related operations. The commander of Lithuania's... MORE

A Ukrainian armor company comprised of 150 soldiers with 11 tanks left Ukraine yesterday to join UN multinational peacekeeping troops in Croatia's eastern Slavonia region, still held by Serb forces. A Ukrainian anti-tank helicopter squadron comprised of 10 helicopters and 125 soldiers is leaving for... MORE

Ukrainian prime minister Yevhen Marchuk yesterday told an international conference in Vienna on the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster that Ukraine plans to fulfill its pledge to close down the Chernobyl nuclear power plant by the year 2000. Marchuk also pointed out that Ukraine is... MORE

Troops from the Moscow garrison will parade on Moscow's Red Square on May 9 to mark the 51st anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany. This will be the first time a military parade has been held on Red Square since the collapse of the... MORE

During the initial meeting of the Russian-Italian Council for economic cooperation, convened yesterday in Rome, the two sides signed an agreement regulating the council's future activities, another on encouraging investment, and a convention on double taxation. Established in accordance with the Russian-Italian Friendship Treaty of... MORE

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman yesterday expressed amazement at Bulgaria's sharp reaction to an earlier remark by Boris Yeltsin on Sofia's possible interest in joining a Russian-led political alliance. The official described Bulgaria as one of Russia's closest friends, said Yeltsin's remarks were taken out... MORE

Switzerland's justice and police ministry announced yesterday that it had expelled from the country the first secretary of the Russian embassy in Bern, who reportedly was caught in an unspecified act of espionage. The Russian embassy apparently did not protest the expulsion. (Reuter, April 9)... MORE

Russia's foreign trade minister, Oleg Davydov, yesterday dressed down the leadership of the Agriculture and Food Ministry for its attempts last month to halt imports of U.S. poultry products. Davydov charged that these efforts could have prompted the United States to erect trade barriers that... MORE