By a vote of 301 in favor and 4 against, the Russian Duma adopted February 9 a resolution reaffirming that Russia's Operational Group of Forces in Moldova plays a "stabilizing role" and urging the Russian government to keep those troops in the region and to... MORE

A delegation of Russian Duma deputies comprised mainly of Communists and agrarians descended on the Crimea for a "working visit" over the weekend. The delegation was headed by the Duma CIS Affairs Committee Chairman Georgy Tikhonov (People's Power). At a meeting in Sevastopol with representatives... MORE

The Russian minister for foreign economic relations said yesterday that Moscow was optimistic about boosting its arms exports to Turkey. Oleg Davydov, who is also first deputy chairman of the Coordinating Council for Russia's Military-Technical Policy, said that the value of arms exports to Turkey... MORE

A group of U.S. Army special-purpose troops is in Lithuania this week to assist that country's nascent special force and to prepare for a joint exercise code-named Winter Forest. The undertaking is part of the U.S.-Lithuanian program known as Military-to-Military, financed by the United States.... MORE

The Russian Foreign Ministry has called the detention of Bosnian Serb leaders and their extradition to The Hague "unacceptable." It also described the action as "dangerous" and said that it "will do nothing to facilitate the implementation of the peace agreement" in Bosnia. The comments... MORE

A team of IMF experts arrives in Moscow today to put the finishing touches on the $9 billion, three-year extended credit facility expected to be finally announced when IMF director Michel Camdessus visits Moscow next week. If the loan goes ahead as expected, it will... MORE

As of yesterday, 161 miners were refusing to leave their pit in Norilsk in the Russian Far North. They remained underground to demand payment of wages and holiday benefits due to them since November. In Vladivostok, in the Far East, 20 scientists of the Eastern... MORE

Meanwhile, an ad hoc Duma commission charged with "analyzing the results of privatization in 1992-95 and determining the responsibility of officials for its negative results" will hold its first, closed-door session on February 20. The commission is stuffed with Communists and members of the Liberal... MORE

Russian interior minister Anatoly Kulikov entered the realm of economic policy yesterday when he called for several large companies and five leading private banks to be nationalized as a means to raise government revenue. The revenue would then be used to pay Russia's impoverished Interior... MORE

1. Itar-Tass, February 9 2. Russian Public Television, "Vremya," Interfax, February 12 3. Izvestiya, February 13 4. Reuter, February 12 5. Itar-Tass & UPI, February 7; Reuter, February 12 6. BBC World Service, February 13 7. NTV, February 11 8. Interfax, February 12 9. Interfax,... MORE