Following Russia's lead, 10 CIS member states have agreed to create a United Air Defense System by the end of 1995, Rossiiskie vesti reported June 6. While some of even these states have placed restrictions on Russia's plans in this area, the new system will... MORE

The Federal Security Service, which is in charge of counterintelligence, told Moscow television June 7 that Poland and Germany have increased their espionage activities on Russian territory and that Turkey has stepped up its efforts to penetrate the Caucasus. More Pipeline Disasters Likely.

Obshchaya gazeta (no. 23) said that more than half of Russian pipelines are more than 20 years old and that some 36,000 kilometers need immediate repair. As a result, more pipeline disasters are likely. Pravda on June 3 reported that there had been 700 pipeline... MORE

The Interior ministry opposes a shift to a simpler personal document and hopes to keep the existing internal passport with all its indications about the bearer's life, Moscow radio reported June 7. Nonetheless, the station said, the Russian government plans to go ahead with the... MORE

Officers of two state security services exchanged gun fire in the Russian capital, Interfax reported June 8. A group of officers from the Moscow Administration of the Federal Security Service were pursuing a criminal and opened fire on a group of Moscow Interior Administration officers... MORE

On the fifth anniversary of his election as patriarch, Aleksii II received greetings from President Boris Yeltsin at a ceremony in a Kremlin church, Russian television reported June 8. Yeltsin told the patriarch that he hoped "our Church will lead Holy Russia toward its might... MORE

Moscow will establish a main administration on Cossack affairs and appoint a supreme ataman, Obshchaya gazeta (no. 23) said. The paper noted that Russian officials always become more interested in the Cossacks when the country faces especially difficult times. Tatar Activists Lose Voter Fraud Case.

A court in Tatarstan has rejected claims by Tatar democratic activists that there was massive fraud in recent elections there, Segodnya said June 8. The activists told the paper that they had not expected to win, but had pressed the case in order to attract... MORE

The failure of the Baltija Bank in Riga continues to echo. The new governor of the bank warned the population not to deposit any funds in his bank lest they be subject to confiscation if the bank is declared insolvent, BNS reported June 8. Meanwhile,... MORE

Helsinki is prepared to give Estonia's Migration Fund "millions" of Finnish marks to help pay for the repatriation of the 10,000 retired Russian officers still living in Estonia, Estonian prime minister Tiit Vahi said after returning from a one-day visit to the Finnish capital, BNS... MORE