Often troubled bilateral relations between Russia and Japan took a sideward lurch this week when an announcement that the leaders of the two countries had at last agreed to meet was followed only a day later by reports that Russian bombers had on two occasions... MORE

The embattled Media-Most group won a round yesterday in its legal battle with its main creditor, Gazprom, the 38-percent-state-owned natural gas company, when the Moscow Arbitration Court postponed hearing a case involving a disputed 19-percent stake in NTV, Media-Most's flagship television channel. In that suit,... MORE

Some critics have accused the Russian authorities of bias and selectivity in their vigorous prosecution of Vladimir Gusinsky and Media-Most, and the results of a probe undertaken last March by a state agency would seem to bear that charge out. The investigation was conducted by... MORE

Russian President Vladimir Putin's February 11-12 visit to Ukraine was the latest in a series of Kremlin moves to capitalize on that country's political crisis and President Leonid Kuchma's vulnerability. Follow-up moves are scheduled to be made in rapid succession. The Kremlin has made a... MORE

Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office has arrested Yulia Tymoshenko, the former deputy premier for energy turned prominent oppositionist. On January 5, Tymoshenko was charged with, but not arrested for, both forgery and gas smuggling in 1995-1997. She agreed in writing that she would not leave Kyiv... MORE

The case of a Russian diplomat charged with the drunk-driving death of a Canadian woman could yet strain Russian-Canadian relations, but for now at least appears to be bringing more opprobrium on the Canadian Foreign Ministry than on either its Russian counterpart or the diplomat... MORE

The possibility of ending the direct election of the heads of Russia's regions is back on the agenda. Vitaly Lednik, who represents the pro-Kremlin Unity party in the State Duma, has drafted a legislative amendment which would give the Russian president the power to appoint... MORE

Residents of Saratov Oblast's second largest city, Balakovo, are collecting signatures in support of their call for their district to leave the jurisdiction of Saratov Oblast. Instead, they say, they want to transfer to the jurisdiction of neighboring Samara Oblast (Polit.ru, February 7). The move... MORE

The Belarusan government and central bank announced on December 27, 2000 that its currency would be pegged to the Russian ruble as of January 1, 2001 (Reuters, December 27, 2000). The aim of the currency peg is to bulk up the Belarusan ruble, which has... MORE

GDP in the first eleven months of 2000 grew 4.3 percent despite the summer drought, which was predicted to cause severe difficulties in the agricultural sector. As it turned out, agricultural output in the first eleven months was down only 3.0 percent and did not... MORE