Various media have again accused President Vladimir Putin and his cabinet of strengthening the powers of the state security services at the expense of basic democrat freedoms--in this case the right to privacy and freedom from state intrusion into private communication. According to several media... MORE

The news that the security agencies have been given greater leeway in carrying out surveillance and eavesdropping corresponded with renewed fears that the Kremlin may be poised to bring Russia's main television channels under state control. Two top television anchors--Yevgeny Kiselev of NTV, who is... MORE

Goskomstat, Russia's official statistical agency, released data in early August on economic trends in Russia's eighty-nine sub-federal regions during the first six months of 2000. These figures do not include gross regional product data, which have not been released since 1998. But the information provided... MORE

As with all official Russian economic data, care should be taken in interpretation. For one thing, it is not clear how these data treat Russia's extensive second economy. Although the official GDP figures are bumped up by 30 percent to reflect the estimated size of... MORE

Even more than the Central and Trans-Volga districts, the Southern district is an amalgamation of very different regional economies. The southern part of this district includes the impoverished North Caucasus, where mountainous terrain, subsistence agriculture, very large informal sectors, stark poverty and the effects of... MORE

The Siberian and Far Eastern districts are similar to most of the other districts in that they consist of a single or handful of large economic units combined with many smaller regions. Four oblasts--Krasnoyarsk, Kemerovo, Novosibirsk and Irkutsk--account for two-thirds of the Siberian district's retail... MORE

Aleksandr Veshnyakov, chairman of Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC), has begun a trip to the provinces to check on preparations for the upcoming gubernatorial elections. Veshnyakov's first port of call was Kaluga Oblast in central Russia, where elections are set for November 12. Next he... MORE

The days which have followed the downing of the Kursk submarine have been filled with unanswered questions, but none so basic or so important as what actually caused the tragedy which cost 118 Russian sailors their lives. Even under the most ordinary of circumstances, it... MORE

Some of the most interesting speculation in Russia, however, has focused on torpedoes the Kursk was carrying. The London Times reported yesterday, for example, that many in Moscow are now pointing to what they claim was an attempt to test a new torpedo on board... MORE

Uzbek government troops continue battling the Islamist guerrilla groups which penetrated into Uzbekistan in early August from Tajikistan. The guerrillas are affiliated with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an expatriate force led by Juma Namangani and Tahir Yuldash from sanctuaries in Tajikistan and Afghanistan.... MORE