Latest Monitor Articles
MORE DAMAGE CONTROL IN BELARUS.
Former Belarusian foreign minister Petr Krauchenka, now a member of parliament, stated yesterday that there were no legal grounds for Belarus to remain a nuclear state. Commenting on Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko's recent suggestion that Belarus might keep its remaining Soviet nuclear arms and seek... MORE
MANNING LEVELS SAID TO BE RISING IN RUSSIAN ARMY.
Manning levels in the Russian armed forces have risen to 75 to 80 percent of authorized strength, the head of the Russian General Staff organization and mobilization department reported yesterday. In recent years, staffing levels have been estimated at under 60 percent, a result of... MORE
ADMIRAL BALTIN STILL AFLOAT.
Admiral Eduard Baltin has not yet received orders relieving him of command of the Russian Black Sea fleet, despite reports of his dismissal January 16 by a joint decree of Russian and Ukrainian presidents Boris Yeltsin and Leonid Kuchma. In comments yesterday, Baltin reminded the... MORE
PRIMAKOV: JUST SAY "NO" TO NATO.
Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov told reporters in Belarus yesterday that while Russia did not claim to have a veto over the actions of eastern European nations, Moscow was telling those countries not to join NATO. Russia opposes NATO expansion, he added, "not because we... MORE
COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER TO ATTEND WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM.
Leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) Gennady Zyuganov will attend the World Economic Forum, which opens February 1 in Davos, Switzerland. This is the first time a Russian Communist party leader will attend the star-studded annual meeting. Zyuganov told Interfax he... MORE
…AS TEACHERS GO ON STRIKE, MINERS PLAN WORK STOPPAGE.
Teachers throughout Russia began a three-day strike January 30 to protest the non-payment of wages. This is the third time teachers have struck over wage arrears in five months. Observance of the strike was patchy: schools were closed in rural areas, but in Moscow and... MORE
LABOR UNREST MOUNTS IN RUSSIA…
Mindful of this year's presidential election, federal authorities beginning with Boris Yeltsin have produced a flurry of decrees, resolutions, special funds, and high-level personnel changes to grapple with a problem faced by millions of Russian workers: prolonged nonpayment of salaries. According to official statistics, the... MORE
START II RATIFICATION NOW LINKED TO 1972 ABM TREATY.
Russian voices welcoming the U.S. Senate's ratification of the START II treaty nevertheless raised familiar concerns yesterday, suggesting once again that Russia's unconditional ratification of the treaty will be problematic. The Russian General Staff's Dmitri Kharchenko, for example, declared that the treaty "lowers the danger... MORE
CHERNOMYRDIN WINS CLINTON ADMINISTRATION ENDORSEMENT.
The Clinton Administration expressed its confidence in Russia's commitment to reform yesterday and suggested that Moscow was likely to reach agreement with the IMF on a three-year $9 billion loan. Following a series of meetings with Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and other top Russian... MORE