Thethree day recess in the Grozny peace talks has sparked a publicdebate in Moscow about what Moscow should do next. Some Russians,including the military and the Cossacks, publicly declare thatthey want a resumption of the fighting until a victorious conclusion.Others, such as Federation Council deputy... MORE

Russian PresidentBoris Yeltsin appeared on Russian television July 18 and acknowledgedthat he had suffered a heart attack on July 10. He said that hisdoctors had promised a complete recovery, but his admission followingdays during which his aides have played down the seriousness ofhis condition, and... MORE

A diplomatat Turkmenistan's embassy in Moscow told Interfax July 17 thatdrugs and not politics were behind a small demonstration of 80young people in Ashgabat last week. He said 49 of the 80 involvedwere high on drugs and 22 others were drunk. Last week Russianmedia had... MORE

In order to forestall suggestionsthat some individuals may have been able to purchase exam questionsearly, Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko read out on Belarusiantelevision July 17 the themes for entrance examinations to thecountry's higher educational institutions. By doing this, Lukashenkosaid, he guaranteed that no one except... MORE

Four people werekilled and six seriously injured when a bus ran over a mine inGeorgia's Abkhaz region July 15, Interfax reported July 17. Armenians Unable to Leave Airport in Baku.

The July 16visit of Armenian journalists to the Azerbaijani capital endedin failure when officials refused to allow them to leave the airport,Itar-Tass reported July 17. The journalists, who were supposedto take part in a much-ballyhooed media bridge, were forced totake the next plane back. Central... MORE

The Central AsianBank for Cooperation and Development has begun forming its authorizedcapital, bankers in Uzbekistan told Interfax July 15. The newbank, created by Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in 1994,is to help finance joint projects and handle payments among thesethree countries. Kyrgyz President Describes Price Increases... MORE

President Askar Akayev said there was no economic justificationfor recent price rises in his country and concluded that unnamedforces were seeking to destabilize the situation there, Interfaxreported July 17. Other Kyrgyz officials suggested that the pricerises had occurred because the government had lost control ofthe... MORE

Russia willuse Sevastopol more for economic rather than military purposesand thus is prepared to invest in its development, much as theAmericans did in Okinawa, Vseukrainskiye novosti reportedJune 23. The Ukrainian paper noted that Russia will have onlytwo major strike force fleets--the Northern and the Pacific--andwill... MORE

Moldovanpresident Mircea Snegur said that Moscow was now beginning tofulfill its agreement with Chisinau to withdraw Russian troopsand materiel from Moldova, Interfax reported July 17. Snegur saidthis was happening because of Yeltsin's efforts and despite theexistence in Russia of forces "that resist that process."