An article in the April 26 Trud suggests that the 1986 Chernobyl explosion may have been the result of sabotage and not an accident as most observers have concluded. One investigator on the site found deposits of what could have been an explosive device; he... MORE

The Azerbaijani government called for bids by May 1 to create an electronic mail system in that country, the TURAN news agency reported April 21. Such networks are rapidly expanding throughout the post-Soviet states. For a recent survey, with addresses, see Moskovskie novosti, no. 15... MORE

Given its difficulties in purchasing and paying for gas from Turkmenistan, Yerevan has asked the Russian Federation to supply it with natural gas, the Armenian news agency reported. Central Asia Turning Against Russia.

"Traditionally pro-Russian Central Asia is showing the first signs of dissatisfaction with Russian policy there," Sanobar Shermatova notes in Moskovoskie novosti, no. 26 (April 16-23). This shift in official and private opinion flows from Russian involvement in Tajikistan and has prompted Turkmenistan to seek to... MORE

With percentages reminiscent of Soviet times, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev had his term extended until December 2000 in an April 29 referendum. More than 90% of eligible voters participated, and more than 95% voted to allow Nazarbayev to stay in office without being forced to... MORE

Krasnaya zvezda reported April 28 that the last nuclear warheads from the SS-18s there had been returned from Kazakhstan to Russia four days earlier. The Final Triumph of Capitalism?

A Russian communist has urged that the Lenin mausoleum on Red Square be kept open by charging admission, Pravda Rossii reported April 20. Nikolay Krivomazov noted that other countries charge admissions to their national shrines. He also suggested that this would help block any plans--such... MORE