A meeting of the Russian government February 9, chaired by First Deputy Premier Oleg Soskovets, rejected proposals drafted by Economics Minister Yevgeny Yasin concerning state support to key industries. The meeting, which was attended by leading industrialists who lobbied for their particular concerns, gave Yasin... MORE

The marathon pro-independence rally in central Grozny ended the evening of February 10, its seventh consecutive day, under threat of an imminent OMON assault. Russian troops had held the crowd and its tent city under siege for the last two days of the demonstration, during... MORE

But while differences between the two sides were muted, they were not ignored. As expected, the major areas of disagreement were Russian objections to planned NATO expansion and Washington's displeasure over Russian technical and economic cooperation with Iran and Iraq. On the first issue, Christopher... MORE

Following more than six hours of talks over the weekend that both sides described as "productive" and "businesslike," U.S. secretary of state Warren Christopher and Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov played down differences between the two countries and pledged to consult on issues of mutual... MORE

1. Reuter, February 8 2. Reuter, February 7; The Times [of London], February 8 3. Interfax, February 7 4. The Times [of London], February 7 5. Itar-Tass, Interfax, February 8 6. Russian and Western agencies, NTV, February 7 and 8 7. Interfax, BBC World Service,... MORE

Tajik president Imomali Rahmonov yesterday dismissed Prime Minister Jamshid Karimov and appointed Yahio Azimov in his place. Azimov, 48, hails from Hojent in the northern Leninabad region and is billed as an ethnic Tajik. However, that region is largely populated by ethnic Uzbeks, who traditionally... MORE

Ukrainian officials consider the issue of the interstate treaty with Russia and Boris Yeltsin's official visit to Ukraine to sign that treaty as a decisive test of Ukrainian-Russian relations. President Leonid Kuchma and other officials failed last week to obtain a commitment from visiting Russian... MORE

At a brief meeting in Helsinki yesterday with Leonid Kuchma, U.S. secretary of state Warren Christopher urged the Ukrainian president to "stay the course" of economic reform and promised U.S. support for Kiev's case before the IMF. Ukraine is awaiting a decision on the release... MORE

The Council of Europe formally invited Russia to become its 39th member state yesterday; the invitation was extended after the Council's committee of ministers approved Russia's admission. The decision was a formality following a favorable January 25 vote by the organization's Parliamentary Assembly. Russia must... MORE

At the just-completed World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, former first deputy prime minister Anatoly Chubais chided certain Western participants for giving credence to Gennady Zyuganov's moderate image. Zyuganov is the leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Chubais warned that there were... MORE