On July 30, the Chechenand Russian delegations at the Grozny talks signed a militaryagreement halting hostilities and setting up procedures for theexchange of prisoners. Both sides hailed it as an important breakthrough,but neither side thought anyone would be entirely pleased withit or even be willing... MORE

In a move thatsuggests a certain lack of confidence in foreign minister AndreiKozyrev, Russian premier Viktor Chernomyrdin has named DeputyPrime Minister Sergei Shakhrai head of a special commission to"assist" the foreign ministry, Moscow's Echo radio reportedJuly 26. Other members of this commission include Kozyrev, deputydefense... MORE

Foreign Ministry policy planning departmentdirector Vadim Lukov said Russia must fulfill some unique missionas it did in Soviet times, when it sought to build "socialismin one country," if it is to retain its status as a greatpower, Kommersant-Daily reported July 27. If Russia simplytries to... MORE

Eightypercent of Russians have not decided whether they will participatein the December parliamentary elections, and 50 percent say thatthey do not think it is worth voting, Izvestiya reportedJuly 26. And only 10 percent are committed to any particular candidate.As a result, virtually any candidate could... MORE

Again this fall, and in a move that recalls its approach duringthe Soviet-era, the Russian government has announced plans toallocate before October 1 six trillion rubles ($1.2 billion) tohelp Russian farmers bring in the crops and get ready for nextyear, Rossiiskiye vesti reported July 27.... MORE

Even as Yeltsinpledged to increase wages and housing for Russian military personnel,the Russian army continued to face a crisis which has broughtit to "the brink of collapse," Komsomolskaya pravdareported July 26. The paper said that at the present time80 percent of Russian soldiers were not... MORE

In order to prevent the introduction of NATO forces into Bosniawhich he and his aides said would lead to a disaster, Boris Yeltsinformally proposed to the five-country contact group that it initiatedirect talks with the warring parties in Bosnia, Russian mediareported July 27. Yeltsin's press... MORE

Disagreements betweenPresident Boris Yeltsin and Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdinon how to proceed in Chechnya came into the open July 27. Yeltsin'srepresentative to the Grozny talks told Russian radio that thenegotiations might not resume July 29, and that Chechen intransigenceleft little room for further discussion. Mark... MORE

Rejectingsuggestions that the authorities would falsify the results ofthe December 1995 Duma elections, and that independent electionmonitors were needed, Central Electoral Commission chairman toldRussian television July 26 that "not even a banana republicwould allow [such outside monitors] and Russia is not a bananarepublic." On the... MORE

Senior officials fromTurkey, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan andKazakhstan met in Bishkek July 26 to prepare for a Turkic summitto be held there August 28-29. Kyrgyz deputy foreign ministerAlikbek Jeshemkulov told Interfax that the August session willseek to expand economic, cultural, and humanitarian links amongthe Turkic... MORE