In a concurrent development, Kyrgyzstan is accepting military assistance from Turkey, a member country of NATO. The Kyrgyz government at this time nervously awaits a possible resumption of hostilities with the roving Uzbek Islamist insurgents whom it has detected in Tajikistan. Last week, Generals Mustafa... MORE

A host of leading Western officials have made it clear in recent weeks that they are prepared to mute criticism of Russia's war in Chechnya both to improve relations with Moscow more generally and to cement personal ties with Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin. It... MORE

The past week saw the long-anticipated announcement by Valentina Matvienko, Russia's deputy prime minister for social issues, that she intends to run for governor of St. Petersburg in the election on May 14 (RTR, March 10). Until now, the favorite to win was the incumbent,... MORE

Sharp declines in nonpayments of all types have been one of the most hopeful aspects of Russia's nascent economic recovery from the August 1998 financial collapse. The total amount of wage, tax and inter-enterprise arrears at the end of 1999 stood at 45.6 billion rubles... MORE

Meeting on March 10 in Moscow, the CIS Economic Council (EC) adopted a five-year development plan for the Commonwealth outwardly reminiscent of the former Soviet Union's Gosplan, the breeding ground of some of the EC's Russian staffers responsible for the latest scheme. Unlike the detailed... MORE

On March 10-11 in Moscow the internal affairs ministers of CIS member countries discussed a Russian plan to institute a CIS antiterrorism program and create a CIS Antiterrorism Center, both under Russian leadership. Russia's Acting President Vladimir Putin and Security Council Secretary Sergei Ivanov--a KGB... MORE

Recently intensified efforts by the Russian government to increase the country's sale of military hardware abroad could face some unexpected obstacles in New Delhi. That, at least, is the conclusion of a recent Western news agency report (UPI, March 7) based on interviews with some... MORE

Yesterday's fatal air crash at Moscow's Sheremetevo-1 airport, which claimed the lives of journalist-publisher Artem Borovik and oil magnate Zia Bazhaev, has inevitably led to speculation over whether it was simply an accident or the result of a terrorist act. Borovik, Bazhaev and seven other... MORE

Russia's Anti-Monopoly Committee announced yesterday that no antimonopoly laws were broken in the recent sale of stakes in three of the country's largest aluminum-producing factories. According to media reports, companies connected to the tycoons Boris Berezovsky and Roman Abramovich, including the Sibneft oil company and... MORE

If certain members of GUUAM have decided to abandon that five-country group, they are proceeding with decorous discretion. Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova formed the group in 1998, with Uzbekistan joining in April 1999 during a Washington summit. The group's primary intent was to counterbalance... MORE