President Yeltsin's warning to Kiev May17 that Ukraine would pay a price for turning toward the West, and away fromRussia, may be a threat that Moscow cannot carry through, Kommersant-dailysuggested May 18. The paper said Moscow could threaten to cut off gas, butthen Ukraine would... MORE

At its organizational meeting on May17, Duma chairman Ivan Rybkin's left of center electoral bloc"Soglasiye"("Accord") failed to attract many of the organizations which hadbeen expected to attend. Among the no-shows were the Social Democrats, theSocialist Workers Party, the Free Trade Unions, and the Union of... MORE

Soglasiye and another newbloc, "Duma-96," rushed to meet the May 17 deadline for registering electoralcoalitions, Moscow television reported May 18. The "Duma-96" group said itwas a pro-Kremlin party of professionals, Nezavisimaya gazeta reported May17. Moscow television said this new bloc will participate in the elections,but... MORE

Duma members now can patronize a specialstore closed to ordinary citizens, Obshchaya gazeta (no. 20) reported. Thisreturn to a Soviet-era institution is one more way the government of PrimeMinister Chernomyrdin is seeking to win the backing of incumbents, and onemore reason why incumbents are fighting... MORE

Prosecutors have backed off from theirprobe of mismanagement and tax evasion at the Russian arms export agencyRozvooruzheniye, Segodnya charged May 18, out of a fear that theirinvestigations could lead to officials beyond their reach. The paper alsoreported that the military have ordered all officers working... MORE

After meeting with Russianpresident Boris Yeltsin May 17, Ivan Korotchenya, the Commonwealth ofIndependent States executive secretary, said that at their meeting in Minsknext week the 12 presidents would sign more than 20 new agreements, Moscow'sEcho radio reported. Among the new pacts will be one establishing... MORE

Col. Gen. IvanSkuratov, the commander of Russian marines, said that more than 50 units fromthe Northern and Baltic fleets had taken part in the Chechen fighting,Krasnaya zvezda reported May 17. The general said these units had now beenwithdrawn from the North Caucasus but there was... MORE

The Duma failed to passthree nuclear-related bills May 17 because of concerns that the nuclear powerministry's plans to privatize nuclear power stations and other nuclearinstitutions could lead to a loss of state control over such sites, Segodnyareported May 18. The paper said that the nuclear... MORE

In order to fight a rising tide ofcounterfeiting of government documents, the Russian government announced thatorganizations who issue the invitations foreigners need to obtain visas willnow have to use a standard form issued by the state, Moskovsky komsomoletsreported May 17. The program was introduced in... MORE

Moscow prosecutors have suspended theirinvestigation of the brutal murder several years ago of Russian Orthodoxpriest, Father Men', because the lack of a suspect, Narodnaya gazeta reportedMay 17. This decision effectively drops charges against I. Bushnev who hadbeen indicted earlier. Many human rights activists suspected that... MORE