Acting President Vladimir Putin declared on March 19 that the large-scale military operation in Chechnya is reaching its logical finish. The main force of the Chechen extremists had been defeated, he said, while adding that "the animals under the name Raduev" can still come together... MORE

On March 20, federal prosecutors in Chechnya began a criminal case involving the alleged murder of sixty civilians in Aldi, a suburb of the Chechen capital. According to eyewitnesses, Russian troops carried out mass shootings of civilians there during a special operation last month (Kommersant,... MORE

During President Leonid Kuchma's official visits last week to Georgia and Azerbaijan, Ukrainian Defense Minister [and General] Oleksandr Kuzmuk and Deputy Foreign Minister Dmytro Tkach discussed military and political aspects, respectively, of GUUAM's prospects (see the Monitor, March 20). Interviewed yesterday in Lviv, Kuzmuk lifted... MORE

The World Bank in mid-March delayed the first US$60 million tranche of a US$200 million loan citing Azerbaijan's lack of progress in public sector reform. This follows an IMF decision in late February to delay a US$22 million tranche of a US$57 million structural loan,... MORE

After three months of work, the reform-minded government of Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko faces serious problems in its interaction with the center-right majority in parliament, the Verkhovna Rada. In December, the pro-presidential oligarchs played a key role in the Rada endorsing Yushchenko's appointment. But... MORE

Russia's never-ending battle to ward off international censure for its bloody war in Chechnya continued yesterday as pressure intensified for the UN Human Rights Commission to take up the issue. In an address opening up the annual session of the commission, UN human rights chief... MORE

As St. Petersburg prepares for gubernatorial elections, scheduled for May 14, the atmosphere is becoming more confrontational, pitting the city's political circles against the federal center. The main factor in the rising tension is the Kremlin's decision to put forward Valentina Matvienko, the government's social... MORE

Konstantin Titov, the Samara regional governor and presidential candidate, declared last week that the Union of Right-Wing Forces (SPS) is on the verge of a split following the decision by its coordinating council to back Acting President Vladimir Putin in the March 26 State Duma... MORE

End-year GDP data are now available for most CIS countries and show a remarkable divergence in performance across the region. Several countries registered solid growth in 1999. The most rapid was reported by Azerbaijan (7.4 percent), followed by Uzbekistan (4.4 percent), Tajikistan (3.7 percent), Kyrgyzstan... MORE

At least 25,000 citizens, predominantly young, demonstrated on March 15 in Minsk to mark Constitution Day--the anniversary of the 1994 constitution, rewritten two years later unilaterally by President Alyaksandr Lukashenka when he established personal rule. The Popular Front, Social-Democrat, United Civic Action and other opposition... MORE