Writing in the April 27 Izvestiya, commentator Sergei Chugaev said that Russia's new stability reflected a February alliance between the executive authorities and large financial and industrial groups. They agreed, Chugaev said, that "there would be no further redivision of political and economic power" in... MORE

The population of Russia will fall from 148 million now to only 138 million in 2005, Russian Academy of Science specialists told Rossiiskaya gazeta April 22. Increasing levels of illness and rising suicide rates will mean that the country's labor force will contract by almost... MORE

Another unit of crack Dzerzhinsky airborne troops is to be sent to Chechnya, Komsomolskaya pravda reported April 25. Troops for the conflict are being drawn from throughout the country, putting enormous strains on other military tasks. The commander of the TransBaikal Military District noted that... MORE

The Russian Air Force Main Staff rejected Japanese press reports that the AUM sect thought to be responsible for the Tokyo subway gas attack had been trained in Russia, Trud reported April 26. Japanese papers have said that the sect has 30,000 members in Russia... MORE

Kaliningrad has established a special council to sell off 20 unused military bases and use the proceeds to finance the construction of housing for retired officers, Strazh Baltiki reported March 22. The program, the first of its kind in the Russian Federation, expects a large... MORE

In a speech to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly April 15, Estonian President Lennart Meri said that Ukraine and Moldova should soon be able to join the Council of Europe, according to a text released by his office. He held out little hope that... MORE

Noting Moscow's continuing complaints about the mistreatment of Russian speakers in non-Russian countries, a Lithuanian journalist has proposed something Moscow could do to improve their lot: establish a special radio station to beam them Russian-language programming. Poland does that for Polish speakers in Lithuania, Jonas... MORE

During the May 14 parliamentary elections, Belarusians are expected to approve a referendum item making Russian an official language but to reject one that would reestablish the Soviet-era flag with hammer and sickle, Segodnya reported April 20. More than many other peoples, Belarusians have never... MORE

On April 26, the Belorusian authorities noted that it was a Belarusian--not a Russian--who had linked up with an American soldier in Torgau in 1945, according to a Belarusian embassy press release. Krasnaya zvezda on April 22 also acknowledged the contribution of other nationalities to... MORE

Ukrainian authorities are certain to press President Clinton to intervene on their behalf regarding the Black Sea fleet during his summit meeting in Kiev, the April 25 Update on Ukraine reports. They will do so not because they expect Moscow to agree to American mediation... MORE