A Russian newspaper charged February 28 that funding shortages have left many Russian soldiers in rags and compelled others to capture and eat dogs to avoid malnutrition. According to Novaya gazeta, many units in the North Caucasus receive no money at all from Moscow, while... MORE

Some of those Russian politicians who Zyuganov hopes will join the left-wing bloc have meanwhile formed a new bloc of their own. Duma deputies retired Lt. General Aleksandr Lebed, Svyatoslav Fedorov, Stanislav Govorukhin, Sergei Glazyev, Konstantin Zatulin, and Oleg Rumyantsev have announced their decision to... MORE

Those supporting Boris YeltsinÕs campaign for re-election gathered in Moscow on March 2. The organizer of the meeting, Sergei Filatov, said 37 parties and movements were represented. Conspicuous by its absence was Yegor GaidarÕs RussiaÕs Democratic Choice. Reminding RussiaÕs democrats of the fate that befell... MORE

The Central Election Commission (TsIK) completed the first phase of the election campaign March 2 by registering 94 initiative groups in support of 79 presidential hopefuls. On March 4, the TsIK launched the next phase by announcing that it had verified the 1.7 million signatures... MORE

In Moscow yesterday, 25 left-wing parties and groups agreed to create a ÒPeopleÕs Patriotic BlocÓ and to back the leader of the Russian Communist party, Gennady Zyuganov, as the sole candidate of the left in next JuneÕs presidential election. They included ÒPower to the PeopleÓ... MORE

Amid an information blackout, Russian forces continued yesterday to airbomb and shell Sernovodsk and Bamut. Thousands of residents fled into neighboring Ingushetia while many others remained trapped in the two villages, now ablaze. Dozens of refugees were killed yesterday during their flight, and hundreds more... MORE

The Russian Foreign Ministry yesterday criticized a U.S. Congress bill toughening sanctions against Cuba, describing it as "contradictory to international law" and "as an infringement on the legitimate interests of sovereign states." It suggested that the "Helms-Burton bill" had been hastily passed following the February... MORE

The foundation stone of St. Trinity Cathedral, post-Communist Georgia's largest church building, was ceremonially laid on March 3 in Tbilisi. Initiators and donors include Patriarch Ilya II, President Eduard Shevardnadze, and members of Georgia's exiled royal family. The cathedral is meant as a symbol of... MORE

The two Russians piloting a cargo plane which crashed into a crowded marketplace in Zaire January 8 (See Monitor, January 10) have been charged with manslaughter and held without bail in that country's capital city. More than 300 people were killed. The Russian pilots could... MORE

Describing India as Russia's "strategic partner number one" in the area of military-technical cooperation, a spokesman for the Russian state arms trading company, Rosvooruzheniye, said March 1 that it will display 142 types of modern weaponry at an international arms exhibit in India this week.... MORE