Russia's major political players have all had something to say--most of it positive--about Putin's victory. First Deputy Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov said that the fact Putin won in one round was a sign of a high level of "consolidation" within Russian society, and that this... MORE

Moscow in early 1999 faced seemingly intractable economic problems. In the aftermath of the August 1998 financial crisis the government and Central Bank of Russia (CBR) were unable to prevent sharp declines in output, accelerating inflation, or the collapse of the exchange rate. The federal... MORE

The greatest threat to Russia's short-term economic prospects may now be too many dollars, rather than too few. After averaging US$5.7 billion during the first three quarters of 1999, average monthly exports rose to US$7.4 billion for October 1999-January 2000. The US$9.3 billion in export... MORE

Russia's disparate and usually fractious political groupings found a rare opportunity to speak in one voice last week: On March 24, the eve of Russia's presidential election and the anniversary of the start of NATO's air campaign against Yugoslavia, they came together to denounce Western... MORE

Russian lawmakers appeared to take a small step toward ratifying the START II strategic arms reduction treaty on March 21 when the Russian Defense Ministry held a closed door meeting on the treaty with members of key parliamentary committees. Reports said that the Russian Defense... MORE

With just four days left before Russia's presidential election, a majority of Russia's major polling agencies are predicting that Acting President Vladimir Putin will win narrowly in a first round vote. If no candidate wins more than 50 percent on March 26, a run-off election... MORE

As Election Day approaches, new fissures have appeared along the right flank of Russian politics. Two leaders of the Union of Right-Wing Forces (SPS), Boris Nemtsov and Irina Khakamada, announced yesterday that they were heading out to Russian regions in order to campaign on behalf... MORE

Russia's acting president, Vladimir Putin, may have brought with him into the Kremlin a personal anti-Baltic grudge. In his autobiographical interviews, widely excerpted in the Russian and international media, Putin charges that Estonian villagers "betrayed" a Soviet NKVD unit--of which Putin's father was a member--to... MORE

Agricultural production in Lithuania fell 12 percent in 1999, primarily due to a 25 percent fall in grain output (RFE/RL, March 6). This is particularly disturbing because the agricultural sector accounts for a higher share of GDP--an estimated 12.1 percent--than in Lithuania's neighbors or, for... MORE

In what was probably intended to appear as yet another overture to the West, Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday said that Russia must be more careful about ensuring that sensitive military technologies are not leaked to foreign customers. Putin, who was speaking to workers... MORE