Also yesterday, the Federation Council approved a law on production-sharing agreements that had been passed by the outgoing Duma. (14) The aim of this legislation is to attract western investment in the extractive industries (diamonds, timber, minerals, oil and gas) by giving legal protection to... MORE

As party list results trickle in from outlying regions, "Women of Russia" is climbing closer to the 5 percent barrier and now stands next in line (with 4.7 percent of the vote so far) behind the four parties that have already cleared the hurdle. It... MORE

Yabloko leader Grigori Yavlinsky has appealed to all reform parties and groups to unite behind a single "anti-totalitarian" candidate in next June's presidential elections. Otherwise, he said, the way will be opened to a candidate from the Communist or Liberal Democratic Parties. (10) Yavlinsky said... MORE

Vladimir Zorin, the top official of the Administration of Federal Power in Chechnya, and the republic's electoral commission yesterday upped Moscow nominee Doku Zavgayev's margin of victory to "over 95 percent". They also claimed a voter turnout of 60 percent of an electorate of just... MORE

According to the chairman of the Central Election Commission, Nikolai Ryabov, only four parties have mustered enough votes to clear the 5 percent hurdle necessary for representation in the Duma. Vote-counting is still not complete, but the Communist party is maintaining its strong lead with... MORE

Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov today said foreign investors should not worry. "They say communists oppose foreign investment (in Russia)," Zyuganov told a news conference. "That is not true. Look at China where a communist government has not prevented foreign companies investing ten times more than... MORE

Aleksandr Lebed, seen before Sunday's parliamentary election as a strong challenger to President Boris Yeltsin, cried foul today over results giving his moderate nationalist party just a handful of seats. In what appeared to be his first public remarks since the election, Lebed said he... MORE

By its own reckoning, the Communist party will have a minimum of 120 seats--some 70 from the party slates and at least 50 from single-mandate constituencies--in the 450-seat Duma. The party said yesterday it hopes to add 30 mandates when the votes of parties which... MORE

In his first public comments since Sunday's parliamentary elections, Russian president Boris Yeltsin said yesterday that the strong showing by communist and nationalist candidates was "no cause for alarm" and would not mean any backtracking on reform. (3) Chernomyrdin: No Change in Policy, No Cabinet... MORE

After meeting with President Yeltsin yesterday to discuss the outcome of Sunday's parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin announced that he would be making no changes to either the cabinet or the economic policies of his government. Communist party leader Gennady Zyuganov has called for... MORE