Ukraine's independence was not a result of the Belovezhye agreement but, rather, of the December 1, 1991 referendum in which the country voted for independence, President Leonid Kuchma told a news conference March 15. Kuchma observed that the Duma's vote "has clearly shown how Russia's... MORE

On the same day that a research reactor in the town of Dmitrovgrad was shut down following its second accident in less than two months, a Russian Atomic Energy Ministry official announced that Moscow planned to bring three new nuclear reactors on line over the... MORE

The California Attorney General's office warned March 15 that organized crime groups from Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union are becoming increasingly active in the state and that law enforcement bodies need to coordinate their efforts to counter the threat. A prepared... MORE

The latest opinion poll by the respected VTsIOM polling organization finds Zyuganov easily maintaining his lead with 25 percent of the popular vote, with Boris Yeltsin trailing in second place with 15 percent. The poll is nonetheless "sensational," NTV commented, since its shows Vladimir Zhirinovsky... MORE

Gennady Zyuganov unveiled his election platform March 17 -- a bland document that promises to provide the population with social guarantees, end the war in Chechnya, and restore Russia's industrial and military potential. Zyuganov said he was in favor of amending the constitution to make... MORE

The Geneva row follows publication last week in Russia of several press commentaries charging that Russian IFOR troops deployed in Bosnia have been relegated to a humiliating subordinate role in the broader peace mission there. One commentary, which appeared March 13 in the respected Russian... MORE

... Moscow and Washington sparred over the weekend following a Russian announcement March 15 that Moscow would boycott a meeting today in Geneva aimed at sustaining the Bosnia peace process. Diplomats said that Russia was angry over the possibility that the Geneva talks, hastily arranged... MORE

Russia's Communist-dominated Duma adopted a statement March 13 deploring President Yeltsin's March 7 decree legalizing the free sale of agricultural land. The statement said the decree contravenes Article 36 of the Russian constitution, which says that land use is regulated by a special federal law... MORE

Russia's Communist-dominated Duma set off a storm of controversy March 15 by voting to annul the December 1991 Belovezhye accord, which disbanded the USSR. President Boris Yeltsin, one of the architects of the treaty, called the Duma's vote "scandalous," and accused Communist parliamentarians of trying... MORE

During a March 15 diatribe directed at Russian liberals, ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky described the United States as an "evil empire" and accused Washington of fomenting civil strife in Russia. The presumptive presidential candidate also accused the West of "living off of money stolen from Russia."... MORE