In a demonstrationof Estonia's economic well-being, Tallinn told the European Bankfor Reconstruction and Development that it would not need thefinal tranche of a $50 million loan that the bank had offeredfor the repair of the country's communication system, BNS reportedJuly 11. The news service also... MORE

Moskovskykomsomolets reported on July 11 that the Russian governmenthas reduced the amount of clothing Russian soldiers will receive.Soldiers will now be expected to wear their clothing longer andwill have to turn much of it in when they leave the service, thepaper said. Russian Soldiers Defect... MORE

Two Russian borderguard soldiers left their outpost and escaped into Finland, Russianborder authorities told Interfax July 10. Perhaps significantly,the news service described their flight as an "escape."The announcement implied that Russia has requested extradition. Estonia Turns Down Part of EBRD Loan.

Although saying thatthe army's spring mobilization had succeeded in all regions ofRussia, Col. Gen. Vyacheslav Zherebtsov, the man in charge ofrecruitment, acknowledged that some 20,000 young Russians haddodged the draft, Interfax reported July 11. The general suggestedthat this figure was somewhat lower than the one... MORE

Over 85 percent of Russia'spublications have been unable to secure the necessary financingfor printing and for replacement of obsolete equipment, and thusmay go under Segodnya reported July 11. The paper saidthat most papers and journals had not been able to make the transitionfrom state subsidies... MORE

Russia will exchange threemillion tons of its oil for a continuing supply of Cuban sugar,Kommersant-Daily reported July 11. The main beneficiaryof the deal, the paper said, would not be the satisfaction ofRussia's sweet tooth but rather the enrichment of oil exporters. Russian Publications in Trouble.

Prime Minister ViktorChernomyrdin signed an agreement with Buryatiya dividing authoritybetween the Russian Federation and the Buryat republic, Russianradio reported July 11. This, the sixth such agreement betweenMoscow and one of its constituent republics, gave Buryatiya powerssomewhere between those extended to Tatarstan and those givento Sakha.... MORE

Meeting in North Ossetia´s capital Vladikavkaz July 11, thepresidents of North Ossetia and Ingushetia, Akhsarbek Galazovand Ruslan Aushev, signed a document on measures toward settlingthe conflict between their republics, Russian agencies report.The two agreed to adhere to Russia´s constitution, to implementBoris Yeltsin´s 1993 decree on... MORE

After a day of tests and rest,Russian President Boris Yeltsin is feeling sufficiently well todo some paperwork and will soon leave the hospital to resume hisnormal schedule, Itar-Tass reported July 12. Yeltsin's hospitalizationyesterday for chest pains sent shock waves through the Russianpolitical system, and ripples... MORE

Russian and Chechen negotiatorscontinued to trade ideas about the political status of Chechnya,but made no progress on this central issue July 11, Russian mediareported. The talks continue July 12. In seeking to achieve Chechenagreement to the Russian position that the political status ofthe republic could... MORE