Russia's new Duma has handed the chairmanships of its International Affairs and its CIS Affairs committees to would-be empire restorers. The International Affairs Committee's new chairman, Dmitry Rogozin, replaces Vladimir Lukin of Yabloko in that post. Rogozin, a former Komsomol leader, now affiliated with the... MORE

There were indications in Moscow yesterday that a much anticipated visit there by NATO Secretary General George Robertson, which had been tentatively scheduled for next week, may fall through. Russian news agency reports yesterday quoted Russian "military and diplomatic sources" as saying that Moscow is... MORE

If Robertson's visit to the Russian capital is indeed called off, it would halt a brief warming in relations between Russia and NATO that began several weeks ago. On January 20 Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov was quoted as saying that "NATO is a reality... MORE

Acting President Vladimir Putin, who remains the overwhelming favorite in the March 26 presidential election, has stressed the need to strengthen the state, but has also insisted that he has in mind a Western-style, democratic model of political and economic development. Yesterday, for instance, in... MORE

There was a new twist today in the story of Radio Liberty correspondent Andrei Babitsky, when NTV television showed broadcast footage of the missing journalist. Babitsky says on the tape that the date is February 6--three days ago--and declares that he is "relatively" all right... MORE

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Western powers face a test in Georgia, similar to that in Moldova (see the Monitor, February 8). Pursuant to the decisions of the OSCE summit in Istanbul last November, Russia is required to close... MORE

Recently released data on consumer price inflation in January (Reuters, February 3) show a clear upward trend in price developments in Ukraine over the last several months. While the year-on-year CPI was 19.2 percent last December, it accelerated in January to 19.9 percent and is... MORE

Rumors have been circulating in the Russian press for nearly a month now that Defense Minister Igor Sergeev's days are numbered and that his replacement is likely to come as part of a larger shake-up of the Russian military leadership. Intimations of such a reshuffle... MORE

More recent Russian press commentaries have continued to suggest that Sergeev, who is already past retirement age, is likely to be relieved of his post soon after Putin's expected election. But some of these reports have speculated that another candidate has emerged for the post... MORE

The case of Radio Liberty correspondent Andrei Babitsky is becoming more sinister and Kafka-esque with each passing day. Babitsky was detained in Chechnya in mid-January and then putatively handed over to Chechen rebel commanders on February 3 in exchange for three Russian POWs. While it... MORE