A burst of initiatives on several foreign policy fronts suggests that Ukraine is still capable of resuming a Western orientation, which unsound economic relations with Russia and the political crisis in Kyiv have recently jeopardized. On March 15, Foreign Affairs Minister Anatoly Zlenko defined Ukraine's... MORE

Ukraine's businessmen in politics have cranked up the pressure on Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko to have their representatives in the government by threatening a no-confidence vote in parliament against him on April 10 if he does not agree to a coalition government. President Leonid Kuchma,... MORE

As Japan battles a deepening political and economic crisis, the chances for Tokyo and Moscow to maintain any diplomatic momentum in their already troubled relations (see the Monitor, February 15) appear to be sinking as fast as Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's personal political fortunes.... MORE

With yet another shooting in broad daylight, Moscow seems to be appropriating the reputation of Russia's second city, St. Petersburg, as the capital of gangland violence. Bashir Kodzoev, a State Duma deputy with the pro-Kremlin Unity faction, was shot at 2 o'clock in the afternoon... MORE

Fresh on the heels of reports that Boris Berezovsky will reportedly escape being charged in the Aeroflot case--which involves accusations that two Swiss firms he created were used to embezzle millions of dollars from Russia's state airline--come other indications that the erstwhile Kremlin insider is... MORE

On March 12 in Ankara, Presidents Haidar Aliev of Azerbaijan and Ahmet Necdet Sezer of Turkey, along with their respective energy ministers, signed a set of agreements on the export of Azerbaijani natural gas to Turkey via Georgia. The agreements catapult the gas export project... MORE

Recent statements by American and some European officials suggesting that Moscow may be reconciling itself to U.S. missile defense plans have been met over the past two weeks with increasingly forceful rejections from a spectrum of Russian political and military officials. In specific terms, the... MORE

This retuned Russian position on missile defense was perhaps reflected most fully in remarks which Colonel General Leonid Ivashov and Yury Kapralov, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Security Affairs and Disarmament Department, made on March 12. Ivashov, a notorious hawk and inveterate saber-rattler... MORE

The vote of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, which the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) initiated last month, went down to defeat today in the State Duma, with 127 deputies voting for it, seventy-six against and five abstaining.... MORE

Prosecutor General Vladimir Ustinov has announced that the Aeroflot case--involving allegations that two Swiss companies set up by Boris Berezovsky, Andava and Forus Services, embezzled millions of dollars from Russia's state airline--will be transferred to a court in one and a half to two months.... MORE