Latest Monitor Articles
RUSSIAN FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE CRIES FOUL IN ARREST OF LIPKA.
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) accused the FBI February 26 of having violated "an unwritten rule of honor" in its February 23 arrest of Robert Lipka. The former employee of the U.S. National Security Agency was charged with spying for the Soviet Union in the... MORE
ESTONIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH REGAINS FREEDOM AS MOSCOW SPARKS ROW IN WORLD ORTHODOXY
. Capping a slow-motion process which began after the restoration of Estonian independence, Estonian orthodox believers have regained church autonomy and the old canonical ties to the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople, shaking off the Moscow Patriarchate's jurisdiction. Constantinople delegates arrived in Tallinn last week to... MORE
A MORE MEASURED TONE FROM RUSSIA’S FOREIGN MINISTRY ON NATO ENLARGEMENT?
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday that Moscow considers the development of bilateral cooperation between Russia and NATO to be of great importance. Moscow also hopes, he said, that this cooperation will promote the alliance's evolution into a military and political organization that will... MORE
YAVLINSKY TO BE TEMPTED BY PREMIERSHIP?
Presidential adviser Georgi Satarov says he does not rule out the possibility that, if he is reelected, Yeltsin will invite Yabloko leader Grigori Yavlinsky to become prime minister. Meanwhile, YavlinskyÕs press spokeswoman has reiterated earlier assertions that Yavlinsky will not enter an electoral alliance with... MORE
FORMER PROSECUTOR GENERAL UNDER ARREST.
In an unrelated case, Russia's former acting prosecutor general Aleksei Ilyushenko was last week charged with demanding bribes and abuse of office. He was arrested on February 15, following his interrogation as a witness to the case of the Balkar Trading company, an oil exporting... MORE
IBM TO STOP PRODUCING COMPUTERS IN RUSSIA.
International Business Machines will stop making personal computers in Russia. The decision, which is seen as a serious setback to Russian attempts to attract foreign investment, is said to be prompted by the fact that the Russian parliament has stripped IBM of previous tax exemptions... MORE
ARREST WARRANT FOR FORMER LEADING DEMOCRAT.
An arrest warrant was issued in Moscow yesterday for the former deputy mayor of Moscow, Sergei Stankevich. He is accused of accepting bribes in connection with a music festival staged in MoscowÕs Red Square in 1992, but an arrest warrant could not be issued earlier... MORE
IN LANDMARK CASE, BANK WINS CONTROL OVER NICKEL PRODUCER.
Oneksimbank, one of Russia's largest commercial banks, has won its battle for control of Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest nickel producer. Moscow's Arbitration Court yesterday rejected a demand by the enterprise's incumbent management to invalidate the 38 percent controlling stake the bank acquired late last... MORE
KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT RESIGNS.
The entire government of Kyrgyzstan resigned yesterday, clearing the way for President Askar Akayev to exercise his newly won constitutional powers and reshape the government. Constitutional amendments approved by the February 10 referendum enable Akayev to personally determine the country's domestic and foreign policies and... MORE