"Russia has become a country in which the rights of national minorities are completely neglected," said Ramazan Abdulatipov, vice-chairman of the former Federation Council and newly elected Duma deputy, at a recent Moscow news conference. Abdulatipov, himself from Dagestan, said Russian conduct in the Pervomaiskoye... MORE

Chechen leaders announced yesterday that they would unconditionally release civilian hostages brought from Dagestan. The size of the group, which escaped alive from Pervomaiskoye after it was carpet bombed by Russian forces, has not yet been disclosed. Resistance leaders said a group of Novosibirsk OMON... MORE

1. Interfax, Itar-Tass, RIA, Russian TV, NTV, Izvestiya, Segodnya, Reuter, AFP, January 19 through 21 2. Western and Russian agencies, January 19 through 21 3. Russian TV, Reuter, January 19 4. Interfax, Itar-Tass, Russian TV, NTV, Reuter, AFP, January 19 through 21 5. Reuter, January... MORE

. Heads of state and prime ministers of the CIS member countries held a long overdue meeting in Moscow January 19. The Chechen crisis clearly affected Russian preparations for the summit, which turned into a mostly ceremonial affair save for a few issues on which... MORE

Russian officials failed January 18 to reach a new long-term agreement with De Beers, signing instead a stop-gap agreement extending until March 1st the 1990 agreement under which Russia sells 95 percent of its uncut diamonds through De Beers' central selling organization. (16) The five-year... MORE

A sharp protest from Tokyo over recent remarks by Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov is but the latest signal that improved relations between Russian and Japan are unlikely in the near term. A Japanese diplomat in Moscow registered Tokyo's disapproval of Primakov's January 12 statement... MORE

The Duma January 19 organized 28 parliamentary committees, five more than existed in the previous Duma. Committee chairs were elected by a process of horsetrading which saw Yabloko work with the communists to ensure that Yabloko deputies received key positions. Communists will chair nine committees;... MORE

Russia has failed to pursue implementation of nuclear security and weapons inspection agreements announced at the May 1995 U.S.-Russian summit. According to U.S. government and arms control officials, Russian failure to pursue the agreements has brought cooperation on a number of important security issues to... MORE

In a recent interview, Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov listed among his top priorities the establishment of the foreign ministry as the coordinator of Russian foreign policymaking, good working relations with the parliament, and a projection of influence consistent with Russia's status as a great... MORE

Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov called January 19 for a criminal investigation of Chubais's conduct of privatization during his four years in government. (10) Luzhkov urged the de-privatization of Norilsk Nickel, the YUKOS oil company, and North-West River Shipping Line, shares of which were auctioned in... MORE