The situation in Chechnya remains extremely tense, with the rebels continuing bombings and hit-and-run attacks on federal checkpoints, positions, automobile and armored columns, and small groups of servicemen and Interior Ministry personnel. Agence France Presse (AFP) quoting Movladi Udugov, the rebels' main ideologist, reported that... MORE

Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechnya's mufti and the head of the republic's pro-Moscow provisional administration, announced yesterday that he had banned the Wahhabi movement in the republic. An anonymous official of his administration was quoted as saying that Kadyrov met on July 24 with local administrative heads... MORE

The authorities of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan--countries sharing the Ferghana Valley--seem to have stepped up the police measures against the shadowy Hezb-e Tahrir religious organization. Its program is said to focus on creating an Islamic state in the Ferghana Valley by carving out areas from... MORE

Three Central Asian states have in recent days asserted quite divergent priorities in the area of language policy, reflecting local circumstances and considerations which relate to both internal and external policies. In Uzbekistan, the cabinet of ministers has launched an initiative to supply native-language school... MORE

Turkmenistan's official economic data leave much to be desired in terms of quality and frequency. Still, there can be little doubt that--like Russia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan--Turkmenistan is currently benefiting from high world energy prices. According to data recently released by the National Statistical Institute (NSI),... MORE

Already on top of the world for his "dazzling" performance at the summit of Group of Seven countries and Russia in Japan (see the Monitor, July 24), Russian President Vladimir Putin had cause to celebrate still another diplomatic victory over the weekend: the release by... MORE

The scandal surrounding allegations that a US$4.8 billion IMF "stabilization credit" in the summer of 1998 was diverted before reaching Russia with the help of Mikhail Kasyanov is likely to intensify with the publication of a related journalistic investigation. The story was first reported by... MORE

On July 26 the Federation Council will debate the law "On the procedure for forming the Federation Council" in the version prepared by the conciliation commission (Radio Ekho Moskvy, July 20). The State Duma passed the bill on July 19 with 307 deputies' votes in... MORE

Given the continued tense situation in the North Caucasus, the report that three well-known Chechen rebel field commanders have given up the fight against Russian forces looks somewhat anomalous. The three who have reportedly given up the fight are former Chechen Defense Minister Magomed Khambiev,... MORE

Back in 1995-96 during the first war in Chechnya, and again during the 1999 phase of the current war, Moscow systematically accused Azerbaijan of allowing "international terrorists" to supply and reinforce Chechen forces via Azerbaijani territory. Russian civilian and military officials--and mass media stories inspired... MORE