The chairman of Russia's Federation Council, Vladimir Shumeiko, has just published a book, entitled Russian Reforms and Federalism in which he criticizes Russia's market reforms. The book, reportedly published in only a few thousand copies which hit the bookstands in mid-October, is cited as arguing... MORE

Estonian president Lennart Meri is arriving today in the US on a working visit, which will begin with meetings with Vice President Al Gore and with members of the Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees. Satirists to Slammer.

A court in Azerbaijan sentenced six employees of a satirical newspaper to prison terms of up to five years Thursday for "insulting the honor and dignity" of President Heydar Aliyev. The court in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku sentenced the publisher of the paper to... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin took an assertive line as he prepares for a visit to the West, saying a firm "no" to NATO's enlargement plan and the extension of the nuclear umbrella eastwards. He said Moscow had contributed more than the four other members of the... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin said on Thursday that he would soon fire Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev. Kozyrev has been widely accused of letting Russia be sidelined in international peace efforts in former Yugoslavia. Nationalist and other hardline elements in the lower house of parliament accuse... MORE

Iranian technicians have begun work on the pipeline which will connect Turkmenistan's Korpedje gas field to Iran's pipeline system. The 140 kilometers-long pipeline, with a throughput capacity of 8 billion cubic meters annually, is due to be completed by the end of 1997. Under an... MORE

Political and business leaders from a majority of CIS states met yesterday in Saint Petersburg for a conference on Commonwealth economic reforms. Participants spoke in favor of accelerated reintegration for the ultimate purpose of establishing a "unified economic space." Such reintegration would encompass the areas... MORE

Azerbaijan's Central Electoral Commission refused yesterday to register the lists of candidates of several opposition parties for the November 12 legislative elections. The commission invalidated some of the signatures in support of those lists, bringing the number of valid signatures below the legally required minimum.... MORE

Georgia's defense minister, Lt. General Vardiko Nadibaidze told a Tbilisi briefing that he welcomed Russian president Boris Yeltsin's idea of forming a military alliance of CIS member states. Regarding cooperation with NATO under the Partnership for Peace program, Nadibaidze claimed that he "did not understand... MORE

. Ukraine's parliament is facing yet another confrontation with the leadership of Crimea over key provisions of the "autonomous republic's" proposed constitution. The matter has gone back and forth between Kiev and Simferopol since earlier this year, when the Ukrainian legislature voted to reject the... MORE