Russian information agencies, citing military sources, reported on the morning of January 18 that federal forces had undertaken their heaviest bombardment of the Chechen capital so far in the current campaign, had made a breakthrough in the Chechen capital, and were fighting in the city... MORE

On January 15, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Armenia unanimously elected Vladimir Darbinian as its first secretary. Darbinian replaces Sergey Badalian, who died of a heart attack last November during a visit to Moscow. Darbinian, 68, was Soviet Armenia's internal affairs minister... MORE

Azerbaijani President Haidar Aliev has decided to go ahead with a long-delayed visit to Iran. The president's medical problems last year, on top of disagreements between the two countries on a wide range of issues, had forced him to postpone the visit several times. The... MORE

Prime Minister Amangeldy Muraliev told reporters in Bishkek in the last week of 1999 that Kyrgyzstan was on the verge of defaulting on its foreign debt (Reuters, December 28). Although during the second half of 1999 Kyrgyzstan showed signs of recovery from the sharp economic... MORE

These troubles represent quite a change for Kyrgyzstan, which was one of the most rapid reformers and fastest growing CIS economies during 1996-1997, recording almost 10 percent GDP growth in these years. This growth, however, brought about both a correspondingly rapid rise in imports and... MORE

In contrast to the CIS economies, with the exception of Kazakhstan, the Baltics have done well in attracting foreign investment. In 1998 Estonia attracted more foreign investment per capita (US$407) than any other state in Central Europe (United Nations 1999 World Investment Report). Foreign investment... MORE

Prior to the vote in the Duma concerning the speaker, Acting President Vladimir Putin addressed the legislators, stressing his commitment to democracy and declaring that those who were warning about a possible dictatorship in Russia "are themselves dreaming of it" and that this dream is... MORE

The Unity-KPRF agreement to put Gennady Seleznev back in the post of State Duma chairman could mark the beginning of a realignment in Russian politics. During the Yeltsin era, the KPRF and its allies from the "national-patriotic" movement, including the Agrarian Party and the Duma's... MORE

Yesterday's inaugural session of the new State Duma ended in a huge furor, when a number of factions walked out in protest at the decision to elect Gennady Seleznev, former Duma speaker and a top member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF),... MORE

In yet another indication of how deeply divided the UN Security Council remains on the subject of Iraq, council members yesterday were unable to reach agreement on the appointment of a new chief UN weapons inspector for Iraq. Yesterday's failure comes one month after the... MORE