Arguing that the Russian capital'sillegal residents now are responsible for 30% of that city's crime, theMoscow city Duma called on the federal Duma to adopt tougher regulations onabuse of the country's passport laws, Megalopolis-express (no. 18) reported.The paper said that Moscow officials had forwarded a... MORE

"Russia will never meetits goals in Chechnya," Chechen president Dzhokhar Dudayev told the Nalchikpaper Hase May 6. Recent Russian atrocities, the president said, havehardened the will of the Chechen resistance. Now Chechens will stop fightingonly if there is full compensation for all losses and internationalsupervision... MORE

A Russian military court has decided to drop the legalsuit arising out of the December 2 clash between the Presidential SecurityService and the "Most" bank group, Moskovsky komsomolets reported May 13. Thecourt gave no reason, but the dropping of this high profile case may indicatea... MORE

Thieves broke in to Saint Petersburg'smain synagogue, taking five rare manuscripts and stealing more than $50,000in other valuables as well as doing extensive damage to the building'scontents, Moskovsky komsomolets reported May 12. Don't Breathe The Air.

Duma deputy Vladimir Katushenko said that theeconomic slowdown has not led to cleaner air in the Russian Federation,Megalopolis-express (no. 18) reported. Katushenko said that environmentalconditions in Moscow and other Russian cities were now worse than in urbanareas of Ukraine and Belarus, despite the continuing impact... MORE

The Saint Petersburg central committeeof the Bolshevik Communist Party has voted to expel Nina Andreyeva, Segodnyareported May 13. The paper gave no reason for the expulsion of Andreyeva whobecame a darling of hard-line communists in 1987 when she published herarticle "I Cannot Give Up My... MORE

The Sakha diamond company isinvesting in Angola, Brazil, and Mongolia in an effort to improve its alreadybright profit future, Delovoy mir reported May 11. But its largestshareholder, the Russian State Property Commission, is pressing it todiversify still further. The Sakha diamond concern will now invest... MORE

Tallinn reports thatEstonian firms have exported $50 million more to Latvia than Riga believes ithas imported from its northern neighbor, BNS reported May 15. According tothe news service, the discrepancy reflects the desire of Estonian firms torecoup VAT taxes by claiming greater exports than have... MORE

At a May 15 pressconference, former Lithuanian president Vytautas Landsbergis sharplycriticized President Clinton for his willingness to recognize "Russia's rightnot to observe international treaties" and still "to receive concessions"from the West, BNS reported. As a result of this attitude, Landsbergissuggested, Moscow pushes ever harder "while... MORE

Lithuanian MP AlgirdisEndrukaistis has appealed to Western governments to help arrange a meeting inGrozny of Baltic parliamentarians who support Chechen independence, BNSreported May 15. Later this month, Vilnius will host the second worldparliamentary meeting on Tibet. Because of the international support theyreceived during the period... MORE