While much of the world has in recent days fixed its attention on developments in the Middle East and the Balkans, Russian news sources covering international affairs have also devoted considerable attention to a third issue this week: what they describe as a deepening diplomatic... MORE

Moscow is awash with rumors that the government is poised to fire Viktor Gerashchenko, head of Russia's Central Bank. The Finance Ministry has criticized the fact that the ruble's value against the dollar has risen 10 percent since the beginning of the year, which has... MORE

According to an Israeli business newspaper, Vladimir Gusinsky, head of the embattled Media-Most holding, plans to file a complaint with Israeli prosecutor's office and police against President Vladimir Putin, Press Minister Mikhail Lesin and Gazprom-Media head Alfred Kokh. The Israeli paper, Business Arena, reported that... MORE

According to the Russian military command, fifteen people were killed yesterday in an explosion in Djohar [Grozny], the Chechen capital. Eight of the victims were reportedly killed on the spot, seven died later in the hospital and twenty-one hospitalized as a result of the blast.... MORE

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Nursultan Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan signed on September 10 in Astana a bilateral Declaration on Cooperation in the Caspian Sea. The Declaration constitutes a joint Russian-Kazakh proposal for a Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea, to be... MORE

According to Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, GDP grew by over 10 percent in the first nine months of 2000 (Reuters, October 2). Booming exports of oil and metals with higher international prices for these commodities have been a boon to overall growth. GDP growth this... MORE

Media-Most chief Vladimir Gusinsky's chances of retaining control of his media holding dwindled this week after a state bank and a government ministry announced that they were seeking the repayment of debts owed them by Media-Most. On October 10, Vneshekonombank--at the request of the Finance... MORE

Russian plans to recover the bodies of sailors lost in the Kursk disaster have moved forward in recent days, but uncertainty continues to dog the effort. The Regalia, a vessel normally used by the offshore oil industry, departed from a Norwegian port on October 8... MORE

On October 10, a suspected was arrested in connection with an attempt to bomb the Prikumsk hotel in the southern Russian town of Budennovsk. No details have yet been made available about his identity. At around 2 PM that day, the Budennovsk police received an... MORE

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) seems set to embark on its most serious effort yet to remove the Russian troops from Moldova and settle the Transdniester conflict. Possibly as early as next week, the first in a series of meetings will... MORE