Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov's three-nation tour of Asia, which began with his arrival in North Korea on February 9, ended with talks in Vietnam on February 13-14. No agreements had been expected during Ivanov's visit to Hanoi, and indeed little of substance appeared to... MORE

Acting President Vladimir Putin broke a notable silence today in telling reporters that he has ordered Russia's special services to ensure the preservation of the "life, health and security" of Radio Liberty correspondent Andrei Babitsky. Putin pointed out that he was not talking about his... MORE

Vladimir Sokolin, chairman of Goskomstat (Russia's statistical agency), told the Russian press on January 26 that Russian GDP grew by 3.2 percent in 1999, the fastest rate of growth since the mid-1980s. According to Sokolin, at the end of 1999 Russian GDP--despite a fall in... MORE

Industry led Russia's economic recovery in 1999. According to Goskomstat, gross industrial output grew 8.1 percent for the year. This was a sharp change on the 5.2 percent decline recorded in 1998, and much better than 1997's tepid 1.9 percent increase. The industrial branches reporting... MORE

In 1999, Tajikistan's progress toward lasting political stability created favorable conditions for the early stages of an economic revival. GDP grew 3.7 percent last year (Russian agencies, Central Asia and Caucasus Business Report, Vol. 3 Issue 5). Barring any major crisis, GDP is estimated to... MORE

An announcement by Acting Russian President Vladimir Putin late last month that Moscow will increase defense procurement spending by some 50 percent this year has grabbed headlines in Russia and the West. Yet, several weeks later, the Russian government has still not provided specific figures... MORE

Acting President Vladimir Putin signed a decree over the weekend which some observers believe is a step toward reinstituting the Soviet-era practice of placing "political commissars" inside Russian military units. The presence of state security units within the armed forces, in fact, never fully disappeared.... MORE

On February 11, Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov announced the start of a large-scale guerrilla war against Russian troops throughout Chechen territory, including those regions already under the control of federal forces, but emphasized that he opposes terrorist acts against Russian cities. Maskhadov's announcement coincided with... MORE

Deputy Prime Ministers Ilya Klebanov of Russia and Leanid Kozik of Belarus signed an intergovernmental agreement to create a "joint" arms manufacturing consortium of the two countries on February 11 in Minsk. Klebanov, who is in charge of Russia's military industry, made it clear that... MORE

Armenia's defense minister, Lieutenant-General Vagharshak Harutiunian--in Belarus on February 8-10 on an official visit--discussed with his Belarusan counterpart, Colonel-General Aleksandr Chumakov, a plan for "strategic and military-technical cooperation" of the two countries in 2000--the first annual strategy for military cooperation between these two allies of... MORE