The struggle for the hearts and minds of Europeans on the subject of ballistic missile defense intensified yesterday as U.S. officials maneuvered to sideline a recent Russian proposal for the building of a joint Russian-U.S.-NATO theater missile defense for Europe. The U.S. actions came during... MORE

The State Duma's Fatherland-All Russia faction, headed by former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, announced yesterday that it had prepared a paper calling on President Vladimir Putin to amend Russia's constitution. The faction's proposed amendments would redistribute power so that the Duma, the parliament's lower house,... MORE

A poll just released by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) has found that President Vladimir Putin's trust rating is at an all-time high, with 71 percent of those polled saying that they trust the recently inaugurated Russian head of state.... MORE

Vladimir Kozhin, who is in charge of the Kremlin's property department, said yesterday that a recent audit of the department found that no significant abuses had occurred during the tenure of his predecessor, Pavel Borodin (Russian agencies, June 8). Earlier this year, President Vladimir Putin... MORE

Russia's Defense Ministry is reported to be protesting the government's plans to trim defense spending in the state budget for the year 2001. According to reports published on June 1, the projected federal budget for 2001 currently envisions cutting funding for Russia's Defense and Interior... MORE

Opposition is mounting against President Vladimir Putin's plans to impose stricter central control over Russia's eighty-nine regions. Putin has signed decrees and introduced draft legislation creating seven federal super districts manned by presidential representatives who will ensure regional compliance with federal law; giving the Kremlin... MORE

If a compromise is not reached, the Federation Council can veto Putin's initiatives, but the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, widely supports Putin on this and can override the Council's veto. This, however, requires 300 or more votes in the Duma, and not... MORE

Vladimir Gusinsky, founder and head of the Media-Most publishing and broadcasting group, said in an interview published today that the powers-that-be have on more than one occasion suggested, first, that he get out of the media business and, second, that they are now trying to... MORE

The State Duma was set today to consider the government's plan to reform Russia's tax system, but President Vladimir Putin was forced to postpone the debate over one of the plan's key provisions--a new social tax. The government has introduced bills which would institute a... MORE

The government's tax reform package is part of the overall plan developed by the Center for Strategic Developments, the think-tank formed by Economics and Trade Minister German Gref to develop a ten-year reform plan for President Vladimir Putin. The architects and supporters of the tax... MORE