Because of the costsof the Chechen war and of the government's failure to fund thedefense budget, the Russian army has been forced to dip into itswinter food reserves and will soon be unable to feed the troops,Duma Defense Committee chairman Sergei Yushenkov told InterfaxJuly 17.... MORE

Speakingat a Moscow conference of the Greater Europe Organization, SergeiKaraganov of Russia's Institute of Europe argued that "therecan be no great Europe without Russia and no great Russia withoutEurope," Russian television reported July 15. Karaganov saidthat Russia should also be looking in other directions as... MORE

Iran's IRNAnews agency said July 17 that Tehran and Moscow will cooperatein oil exploration and extraction in the Caspian. Russia's deputyfuel and oil minister is in Tehran to sign agreements on thisscore. Civilian Experts Oppose Ratification of START-2.

Whileserving Russian military officers have supported the ratificationof the arms control accord, civilian and retired military personnelhave opposed it in testimony to the Federation Council's InternationalAffairs Committee, Interfax reported July 17. Several of the academicswho spoke argued that the treaty discriminated against Russiaand should be... MORE

Russian prime ministerViktor Chernomyrdin will present his government's 1996 budgetto the Duma on July 19 and is expected to present an upbeat assessmentof the Russian economy, Interfax reported July 17. Following hisspeech, Duma Security Committee chairman Viktor Illyukhin saidthat he would denounce the government for... MORE

Russianforeign minister Andrei Kozyrev told a Moscow press conferenceJuly 17 that "there is a risk of a merger between criminaland government structures" in Russia but he rejected anyWestern criticism of what Moscow is doing, Interfax reported July17. He added that the Council of Europe should... MORE

Russian prosecutorshave ordered the release of Khamat Kurbanov, Chechen presidentDzhokhar Dudayev's representative in Moscow, Interfax reportedJuly 17. The prosecutors said there was insufficient evidenceto hold him further. Kurbanov, who was arrested June 17 undera presidential decree, has been on a hunger strike throughoutthe 30 days... MORE

Only one Budennovskmilitiaman in eight was armed when the Chechen strike force tookhostages there in June, local officials told Russian televisionJuly 16. As a result, the militia could do little against them.But now the militia has a new and perhaps more doable task. Theauthorities in... MORE

Yeltsin aide Georgy Satarov said that he expected the ConstitutionalCourt will make its ruling at the end of this week or early nextweek, Interfax reported July 17. The court will not call eitherdefense minister Pavel Grachev or Federation Council speaker VladimirShumeiko, however. In testimony to... MORE

Presidentialaides and other government officials continue to say that Yeltsin'scondition has improved, despite his unexpected cancellation ofa meeting with Duma leaders, but congenitally suspicious residentsof the Russian capital are not so sure, NTV reported July 16.According to a poll conducted in Moscow July 13-14, 38... MORE