In Moscow today, Presidents Boris Yeltsin and Aleksandr Lukashenko signed a treaty establishing a "Community of Sovereign Republics" comprised of the two countries. The new formation's title reflects the fact that Lukashenko has signed away far more national prerogatives than the countries of the Commonwealth... MORE

U.S. national security adviser Anthony Lake yesterday praised Boris Yeltsin for his "belief" that the ex-Soviet republics "have chosen freedom and their will must be respected." (AP, April 1). Two days earlier, Russia's Communist and ultranationalist leaders praised Yeltsin for orchestrating an agreement on deep... MORE

Only days before the scheduled Russian-Ukrainian summit and treaty signing in Kiev, Ukrainian prime minister Yevhen Marchuk said over the weekend that Moscow and Kiev stood far apart on unresolved issues relating to the Black Sea Fleet. A working group cochaired by Deputy Prime Ministers... MORE

Commenting on the failure of last week's round of Russian-Estonian talks on defining their common border, Estonian president Lennart Meri told the press that the difficulty stemmed not from any land claims but from the Russian side's view -- as reaffirmed by chief negotiator Vasily... MORE

The Russian government's ability to collect taxes seems to be falling. In February and March, the federal government's tax income reportedly fell below 5 percent of GDP. This is partly the result of a slowing of inflation, which reduces nominal profits and therefore the profits... MORE

Presidents Boris Yeltsin of Russia, Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, and Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan signed in the Kremlin March 29 an agreement on deeper integration among their countries. The first three countries comprise the CIS customs union, which Kyrgyzstan joined that... MORE

Delays in paying wages are a hot political issue in Russia in light of the approaching presidential election. The central government can be held directly responsible only for arrears in the payment of federal government employees, not for those working for regional governments or in... MORE

In an action that appeared to be related to news reports published last week by the Washington Times, the Russian Foreign Ministry called in U.S. ambassador Thomas Pickering March 29 to complain about what Moscow said were "provocative leaks" to the mass media that had... MORE

Amid reports of escalating levels of Russian brutality in Chechnya, Washington called March 29 for an end to "indiscriminate and excessive" use of military force and for the adoption of peaceful methods to resolve the conflict. "We continue to be appalled by the very considerable... MORE

Publicly admitting that his reelection in June hinged on stopping the