Moscow'sKommersant-Daily on July 20 suggested that ethnic activismwas linking up with, and being subsumed by, criminal machinationsin Crimea, and noted that "we have surely seen all this somewhereelse. Oh yes, in Chechnya..." Ukraine to Rent Military Test Ranges to NATO.

Moscow'sRabochaya tribuna said July 19 that Kiev plans to rentseveral military test ranges in the western sections of Ukraineto the UN peacekeeping training, and to NATO, for the preparationof a rapid deployment force for Yugoslavia. Language Politics Heat Up in Moldova.

A July 20 academicconference in Chisinau on the "correct" name of thelanguage spoken by the people of Moldova became the occasion forthe demarcation of the new political lines in that country. Thegovernment majority in the parliament refused to attend becausethe organizers said that the correct... MORE

The RussianConstitutional Court's ruling that the Chuvash parliament couldnot drop a participation requirement in the last round of electionsmeans that almost one-third of the republic's parliamentarianswill have to resign, Kommersant-Daily reported July 20.That will give the republic's president a stronger hand at leastin the immediate... MORE

In a move certainto exacerbate Russian-Estonian relations, Tallinn reportedly hasdeported seven Russian Orthodox nuns for failing to comply withEstonia's residence permit laws, Ostankino television reportedJuly 20, citing Russian press sources. There was no independentconfirmation available from Tallinn. Latvian Parliament Cuts Government Budget.

An article in the July 20 Moskovsky komsomolets suggestedthat American firms, with the backing of the American government,were seeking to take control of Russia's regional television stationsand thus "call the tune" that Russians would hear inthe future. Duma Deputy Denounces US Embassy July 4th Party.

Dumadeputy Sergei Korobov said that the Russian foreign ministry shouldprotest to the US embassy in Moscow for the latter's July 4 partywhich he said had disturbed the peace of the Russian capital, Obshchaya gazeta (no. 29) reported. To Pay for New Airport, Ingushetiya Bans Oil... MORE

Inorder to be able to pay for a new airport which is being constructedby a Swiss firm, the Ingush government has issued a decree banningany export and sale of oil from the republic, Segodnya reportedJuly 20. Instead, the oil will be swapped with the Swiss... MORE

TheFederation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FITUR) willorganize strikes and will participate in the December parliamentaryelections as a block in order to force the Russian governmentand Russian enterprises to pay their workers the wages they havealready earned, but not collected, Russian radio reported July20.... MORE

A program which would have moved thousands ofelderly Russians from the far north to more temperate parts ofthe country has collapsed because the government has not beenwilling or able to pay for it, Russian radio reported July 20.As a result, many of the elderly who... MORE