Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Krylov yesterday decried the possibility that the resignation of Polish prime minister Jozef Oleksy might disrupt relations between Warsaw and Moscow. Oleksy resigned January 24 after military prosecutors in Poland launched a formal investigation into allegations that he had spied... MORE

Chechen field commander Hunkar Israpilov has sharply criticized Salman Raduyev's performance as commander of the Chechen detachment that recently seized hostages and battled Russian forces in Dagestan. Israpilov said that he took over command of the operation from Raduyev after the latter failed in his... MORE

Turning the tables on Russia, a top NATO official cautioned yesterday in Moscow that creation of a Russian-led military bloc could accelerate NATO enlargement. Russian leaders have threatened repeatedly to organize a CIS military bloc to counter NATO should the latter alliance expand its membership.... MORE

On the same day that the Council of Europe voted in Strasbourg to admit Russia as a member, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman slammed the European Parliament in Brussels for having issued a resolution January 18 that sharply criticized Russian policy in Chechnya. The resolution... MORE

Ending a long wait that began with the invasion of Chechnya in December 1994, the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe voted as expected yesterday to admit Russia. The 164-35 vote easily exceeded the required two-thirds majority, yet followed fierce criticism of Russia's human... MORE

Vladimir Kadannikov, one of Russia's leading industrial managers, was yesterday appointed First Deputy Prime Minister with responsibility for the economy, taking over the portfolio held until last week by Anatoly Chubais. (1) The appointment sets the seal on the government's shift toward greater state intervention... MORE

1. Interfax, January 24 2. Izvestiya, January 18 3. Interfax, January 23 4. Interfax, January 24 5. Russian TV, "Vesti", & Interfax, January 24 6. UPI & Interfax, January 24 7. Komsomolskaya pravda, January 24; Izvestiya, January 25 8. Interfax, January 24 9. Reuter and... MORE

Russian Foreign Ministry chief spokesman Grigory Karasin yesterday criticized "unfriendly statements directed against Russia" allegedly made by Umirserik Kasenov, director of Kazakhstan's Strategic Research Institute. Speaking at an international seminar on "Foreign Policy and Security in the Caucasus and Central Asia," Karasin charged that Kasenov's... MORE

Facing the critical scrutiny of international lenders and governments, Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma told a meeting of senior ministry and regional leaders yesterday that large-scale privatization in Ukraine would be a strategic goal in 1996. The ultimate objective of privatization will be to create a... MORE

The leaders of Transdniester appear unfazed by a recent joint statement by the presidents of Russia, Ukraine, and Moldova which affirms the territorial integrity of Moldova. The statement, issued January 19 in Moscow, calls for resolving the Transdniester conflict through "a special status...as a constituent... MORE