A government commission chaired by Deputy Premier Anatoly Chubaisannounced that electric utilities would not be allowed to raisetheir prices beyond 70 percent of the general price increase duringany given period, Russian television reported August 23. Thislimitation will bring some relief to Russia's hard- pressed consumersand... MORE

Kommersant-Dailyon August 23 reported that the Russian Central Bank is likelyto raise and narrow the soft peg corridor for the ruble exchangerate against the dollar after October 1. The paper suggested thatthe ruble-dollar rate might rise to 5,500 to one next year andthat the central... MORE

More than ten of thelargest Russian banks are now in financial difficulties, Russiantelevision reported August 22. Some of them fell into this situationas a result of the lack of professionalism among managers; othersbecause they ran afoul of the country's political leadership whichcan dispose of enormous... MORE

Moscow militiamenfound and defused a bomb found outside the American embassy August22, Moskovsky komsomolets reported August 23. The papersaid that the home-made device was small, but officials were concernedand ordered the evacuation of the chancellery building. Government Seeks to Rein in Electric Power Rate Increases.

During his visit to the Altay, Russian prime minister ViktorChernomyrdin said that the Russian government will not compensatedepositors who lost their money from fraud by such companies asMMM and the Selenga house, Krasnaya zvezda reported August23. The Russian media reported the same time that Russians... MORE

One reason Duma speakerIvan Rybkin has been unable to attract much support for his left-centerelectoral bloc is that many politicians believe he is too closelytied to the government to serve as an opposition leader. Now,Moskovskiye novosti (no. 56) has charged that Rybkin maybe in bed... MORE

Russian generalsare playing an ever greater role across the political spectrumwith various parties wanting to have a general officer on theirelection lists, Moskovskiye novosti (no. 56) reported.Moreover, Yeltsin himself is increasingly relying on the generalsin his security services and in the army itself. As a... MORE

Russiangovernment promises to the contrary, Boris Yeltsin may yet decideto use his powers to declare a national emergency and thus putoff the planned 1996 presidential elections, Moskovskiye novosti(no. 56) reported. The paper said that Yeltsin's office was consideringall options to keep the unpopular Yeltsin in... MORE

In an interviewwith Komsomolskaya pravda August 22, Russian negotiatorin Chechnya Arkady Volsky said that the Chechen campaign had "costus some 30,000-35,000 lives. Do we need more?" He suggestedthat the Chechens could hold out for a long time even if Russiarenewed its military offensive and that... MORE

. Yeltsin's aides insisted August24 that President Boris Yeltsin was hard at work but they refusedto provide any details, Russian radio reported. Questions aboutYeltsin's health were raised again August 22 when he failed toshow up at the opening of the Moscow air show. Kommersant-Dailyon August... MORE