Only 8,889 of the 15,717 foreign and joint ventures registered with the Russian authorities are actually operating, Izvestiya said June 17. Of those actually in operation, 1134 are jointly owned by Russians and individuals from the CIS countries, the paper added. Russian Regions Demand Expanded... MORE

Russian regions--especially in Siberia--are pressing for an expansion of their role in conducting foreign trade, Russian television said June 19. The regional authorities believe that they should not have to go through Moscow when they deal with foreign firms or governments. The regions also want... MORE

1500 local Russian papers have closed since the beginning of 1995, Duma media committee chairman Mikhail Poltoranin said on Russian television June 20. Poltoranin added that even in media-rich Moscow there is now only one copy of a paper for every 16 city residents. And... MORE

Estonian officials cannot seem to agree, BNS reported June 20. Prime Minister Tiit Vahi told a NATO meeting in Dresden that the country's GDP had risen 4.7 percent in the last year, but officials from the country's statistical administration said the same measure had fallen... MORE

In diplomatic language, Latvian president Guntis Ulmanis and premier Maris Gailis said that outsiders had caused the recent collapse of the Baltija bank and thus precipitated the current economic uncertainties in Latvia, BNS reported June 20. While they did not name Russia, their words certainly... MORE

A Russian-German joint enterprise will begin to explore for oil in the Baltic sea, Segodnya reported June 20. At least part of the area to be explored lies in areas claimed by Lithuania, thus setting up another conflict between Vilnius and Moscow. Kiev Tries Again... MORE

Ukrainian authorities will try again to require merchants there to accept only Ukrainian money, and to not set their prices in dollars or marks, Izvestiya reported June 17. The Moscow paper suggested that Kiev was unlikely to do any better this time than during its... MORE

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma sharply criticized the Chechens for the hostage-taking in Budennovsk, Kiev radio reported June 20. His line was echoed by almost the entire Ukrainian political spectrum, Russian television reported the same day. On June 19, Russian radio had reported that Ukrainian officials... MORE

Russian deputy defense minister Gen. Konstantin Kobets met with 14th Army commanders in Tiraspol June 19-20 to install Maj. Gen. Valeri Yevnevich as commander of the army, Flux and Basarpress reported. Kobets assured local officers that they will not face disciplinary action for supporting retired... MORE

A prison guard who had been on duty when a Dashnak activist died in prison has committed suicide, Noyan Tapan news agency reported June 20. Capt. Yuri Grigorian, 30, said in a note that he had taken his life because of "poor health," but such... MORE