Ukraine has agreed conditionally to allow Russia to modernize the tactical aviation regiment attached to Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Crimea. The regiment, based at Hvardiyske (Russian: Gvardeiskoe) outside Simferopol, consists of twenty-two SU-17M strike aircraft. This model is outdated and the planes in... MORE

The Kremlin began celebrations marking the country's main military holiday two days early yesterday, as Acting President Vladimir Putin conferred promotions on several leading commanders of the Russian military campaign in Chechnya while Defense Minister Igor Sergeev presided over a military parade in Djohar (Reuters,... MORE

With the February 11 deal to restructure its debt to the London Club of commercial creditors, Russia took a big step forward toward restoring its external creditworthiness and reentering global capital markets since the August financial crisis. The London Club, which is composed mainly of... MORE

The Central Election Commission has completed its registration of candidates for the March 26 presidential election. A total of eleven were registered: film director Stanislav Govoryukhin, Moscow-based businessman Umar Dzhabrailev, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov, former Social Security Minister Ella Pamfilova, Spiritual Heritage movement head Aleksei... MORE

Semen Mogilevich, the reputed Russian organized crime boss who allegedly laundered money through the Bank of New York (BONY), has given an interview to a leading Russian weekly. In it, he claims that he has been connected to the scandal only because one of his... MORE

Russian troops in Djohar, the Chechen capital, held a parade yesterday to mark Defender of the Fatherland's Day--known during the Soviet period as Soviet Army Day. The symbolic purpose of the parade was to symbolize the defeat of the Chechen rebel forces. Russian Defense Minister... MORE

The coordinating council of the Union of Right-Wing Forces (SPS) is holding a closed meeting today to discuss the issue of which candidate the coalition will back in Russia's March 26 presidential election. The council is made up of the coalition's top members, including United... MORE

Relations between Russia and the United States continue to run on two contradictory tracks. This was apparent late last week as two efforts at conciliation between Russia and the West--NATO-Russian talks in Moscow and Russian-U.S. talks in Washington--produced some evidence that a year of intense... MORE

Russia and the United States also clashed anew last week over the war in Chechnya, first following a meeting between U.S. State Department officials and a Chechen parliamentary official and again after a State Department spokesman raised the issue of reported Russian atrocities in Chechnya.... MORE

The North Caucasus division of the Prosecutor General's Office has brought criminal charges against Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov. Maskhadov is charged, under Article 279 of Russia's criminal code, with organizing and participating in an armed rebellion, for which he could be sentenced to twenty years... MORE