Officials from Astrakhanwant their oblast to become a special economic zone, much as thetreaty republics and Kaliningrad already are, Moscow radio reportedAugust 2. Moreover, Astrakhan wants to participate in all futuretalks about the status of the Caspian sea, and to be given a majorshare of... MORE

Col. Gen. Podkolzin told Moskovskiye novosti (no. 51)that prior to the December 1994 intervention, "no one toldus we were going to fight a war" in Chechnya. Instead, heand his officers thought they were simply going to be involvedwith disarming a few units.

In theAugust 2 issue of Moskovskaya pravda, Defense MinisterPavel Grachev said that Yeltsin, Chernomyrdin, Federation Councilchairman Vladimir Shumeiko, and the commander of Russian bordertroops had joined him in voting for his own retirement after theBudennovsk hostage crisis, thus implying that the other membersof Russia's Security... MORE

Russianforeign minister Andrei Kozyrev told US Secretary of State WarrenChristopher that Moscow would not be deterred in its plans tosell nuclear equipment to Iran, Russian television reported August1. Meanwhile, Russian representatives, including Kozyrev, continuedto press for expanded military industry ties with South Africa,Egypt, Libya and... MORE

Seven and possibly eight of the 18 justices of the RussianConstitutional Court disagreed with the court's approval of Yeltsin'sdecision to intervene in Chechnya, Izvestiya reported August2. Those who believed that Yeltsin's decrees were unconstitutionaldid not challenge the right of Moscow to take action, only theway... MORE

Ukrainian premier EvhenMarchuk put off a planned visit to Moscow as talks between Kievand Moscow ran into a brick wall, Kiev media reported August 2.Moscow has offended the Ukrainians by demanding more bases thatYeltsin had asked for at the Sochi summit, and by the remarksof... MORE

Despite the celebratory mood in the Russian government aboutthe accord with Chechnya, The Russian Security Council has prepareda secret study that suggests that peace between Moscow and Chechnyais "in principle" impossible, Izvestiya reportedAugust 2. The study reportedly suggests that the differences betweenthe two sides are... MORE

Ethnic Chechensare "already being deported" from Rostov and Ivanovooblasts and from Stavropol and Krasnodar krays, Moskovskienovosti (no. 51) reported. Local Cossacks have threatenedto burn them out if they do not leave voluntarily, and local officialshave also put pressure on the Chechens to leave. The Moscow... MORE

The Chechen Defense Committee,under the chairmanship of President Dzhokhar Dudayev, approvedthe recent military agreements with the Russian Federation, andthe two sides agreed to exchange prisoners August 2. Moreover,Chechens began turning in some arms, often via local mosques,even as Russian military sources told Moscow media that... MORE

Russian reformerYegor Gaidar told Moscow radio August 1 that it is important tounderstand that "Russia has entered onto a normal path ofstabilization, and will in the course of time live better thanPortugal, and will catch up with South Africa, and then Spain,and then even more... MORE