Russian presidentBoris Yeltsin told an interviewer that world leaders should meetthis fall to deal with Yugoslavia, Russian media reported August19. Russian diplomats said that such a meeting would allow Yugoslaviato "enter 1996 leaving wars and conflicts behind," Russianradio reported the same day. Such a meeting,... MORE

VasilyStarodubtsev, a leader of the Agrarian Union, told Moscow radioAugust 18 that the Russian government had led the country to the"threshold of a famine." Russian officials denied thatsuggestion and earlier media reports that this year's harvestwould be below 50 million tons, but they did acknowledge... MORE

In aninterview with Komsomolskaya pravda August 19, Russianpresident Boris Yeltsin called on democratic groups to unify againstthe threat of extremism, said he would work to find common groundwith all of them, and reported that he would reorganize the country'ssecurity services to improve the struggle against... MORE

After a weekend markedby disputes over how many prisoners each side holds, violencethat left dead on both sides, a massive pro-independence demonstrationin Grozny, and threats by Shamil Basayev to launch new terroristattacks on Russian cities, Itar-Tass reported August 21 that agroup of pro-independence Chechens has... MORE

Only a smallgroup of pro-communist protesters gathered in Moscow to mark thefourth anniversary of the failed August 1991 coup, Russian mediareported. But Russian papers and broadcasters gave extensivecoverage to the remarks of both participants and observers inthat event. Reformist historian Yuri Afanasyev told Moscow radiothat... MORE

Officials inTurkmenistan have crushed two recent prison mutinies and killedat least 27 people, Kommersant-Daily reported August 17.No additional details about the violence are available, the Moscowpaper said, because Ashgabat has suppressed all information onthese two events. Russian Prostitutes Moving to Poland.

Young girls fromthe republics of the former Soviet Union are flocking to Polandto work as prostitutes, Izvestiya reported August 17. Polishpolicemen told the paper that these girls "are more attractivethan their Polish colleagues in this profession and they cost10 zlotys less!" But Polish officials are... MORE

A Russianmilitary registration and enlistment office has been set up inthe Kazakhstan city of Leninsk to draft Russian citizens livingthere and to provide support for Russian military pensioners,Krasnaya zvezda reported August 16. An earlier Russian-Kazakhagreement gave Moscow extensive powers in that city and de factocontrol... MORE

Despite continuingreports of clashes between the Tajik opposition and Russian forcesin Tajikistan, Tajik president Imammali Rakhmonov and Tajik oppositionleader Abdullo Nuri have agreed to extend the shaky truce betweenthe two sides for six more months, Russian radio reported August17. The UN-brokered cease-fire had been scheduled... MORE

Former Azerbaijanipresident Ayaz Mutalibov rejected Baku's claims that he was behinda recent coup attempt in Azerbaijan, Russian radio reported August17. Saying that he wanted to participate in Azerbaijani affairsin the future, Mutalibov suggested that there is no chance ofstaging a coup in Baku at the... MORE