Kazakhstan's announcement that it will soon repay the US$400 million it owes to the IMF four years ahead of schedule highlights the fact that the recovering economy now has several new sources of funding. In late April, the fourth issue by Kazakhstan of US$350 million... MORE

While all members of the customs union grouping--Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan--potentially stand to benefit from freer trade within the CIS, some of them should be more worried than others about the inconclusive results of their presidents' meeting in Minsk. The May 24 meeting... MORE

Government officials in Moscow yesterday further outlined their tax reform plans, announcing that they will make up for cuts in the income and payroll taxes, and the elimination of taxes on turnover, by sharply increasing excises on gasoline and tobacco. Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov told... MORE

Some observers believe the government's push to lower taxes will encounter serious bureaucratic opposition. As one newspaper recently noted, the tax cuts are likely to be resisted by the state tax authorities and other "control organs," who have "commercialized" their own operations--that is, who use... MORE

The Clinton administration appeared to bow to the inevitable yesterday and to admit that next month's Russian-U.S. summit in Moscow will not produce an agreement on key arms control issues. For many months now, and through innumerable negotiating sessions, American officials have tried to persuade... MORE

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus, Robert Kocharian of Armenia, Nursultan Nazarbaev of Kazakhstan, Askar Akaev of Kyrgyzstan and Imomali Rahmonov of Tajikistan, with their top foreign policy and defense officials, gathered on May 24 in Minsk in the framework of the... MORE

Despite passing a series of measures in 1999 designed to improve its dismal revenue collection record, the Georgian government continues to suffer revenue shortfalls. In the first quarter of 2000, the government collected GEL122.7 million (US$62.3 million) in central government revenues, 14 percent less than... MORE

Caspian countries and the international oil industry stand on the threshold of a huge oil find in Kazakhstan. The Offshore Kazakhstan International Operating Company (OKIOC), a Western consortium, has reportedly discovered one of the world's largest oil fields at East Kashagan, in the northern part... MORE

President Vladimir Putin's push to transform Russia's federative relations is moving forward quickly. The Prosecutor General's Office yesterday announced that it is setting up offices in each of the seven new federal districts, which are headed by presidential representatives. In addition, there are signs that... MORE

In an apparent effort to assuage the regional heads over their impending loss of power, the Kremlin is seriously considering the idea of a state council, which was broached earlier this month by Tatarstan President Mintimer Shaimiev. Shaimiev suggested the State Council as a way... MORE