Russia and most other CIS economies responded to the August financial crisis by tightening monetary and fiscal policies and trying to keep relations with the IMF on course. But not Belarus. At the behest of the Lukashenka government, the Belarusan National Bank (BNB) continues to... MORE

According to its official data, Belarus during 1997-1998 was one of the fastest growing economies in the CIS, reporting GDP growth of 10.4 percent in 1997 and 8.3 percent in 1998. This growth was often portrayed by the Lukashenka government as vindication of its strategy... MORE

A group of veteran Russian human rights activists who opposed the 1994-1996 Chechen war yesterday called for an end to the current one and for the introduction of international peacekeeping and police forces there to guarantee the safe return of refugees. The group said in... MORE

While it would be an exaggeration to say that the strong support for the Chechen military campaign from both Russia's public and elite is collapsing, the dynamic is certainly starting to change. The Berezovsky press appears to be taking advantage of the situation. Yesterday, Grigory... MORE

Following the talks yesterday between Lavrov and Milosevic, Moscow and Belgrade emphasized their joint dissatisfaction over what they said have been efforts by the international administration in Kosovo to push the province toward independence from Yugoslavia. Earlier, following his meetings with UNMIK head Bernard Kouchner... MORE

Russia's ambassador to the UN, Sergei Lavrov, held talks in Belgrade yesterday with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic and Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic. His arrival in the Yugoslav capital followed a controversial two-day visit to Kosovo, during which Lavrov met with Serb and Albanian officials, and... MORE

Tajik President Imomali Rahmonov has won reelection to a seven-year term of office. The official returns, issued within hours of the November 6 balloting, claimed an overall voter turnout of 97 percent and credited Rahmonov with 96 percent of the votes cast. Economics and Foreign... MORE

The militants of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), who have been operating in the Tajik-Kyrgyz-Uzbek border region, are now in Taliban-controlled territory in northern Afghanistan. Nearly 1,000 rebels, accompanied by several hundred family dependents, left their encampments in Tajikistan's Jirgatal and Karategin areas on... MORE

Russian Public Television (ORT) and Nezavisimaya gazeta charged over the weekend that Fatherland-All Russia (OVR) had dispatched a delegation to the West to convince officials there that Putin should be replaced by Primakov (see the Monitor, November 8). The charges were repeated by RTR state... MORE

The Russian air force has carried out over eighty bombing missions in Chechnya over the last twenty-four hours, during which, according to official reports, four bridges were hit and eight bases for Chechen fighters destroyed. Russian forces took control of the Gudermes region, though not... MORE