On the eve of yet another round of Russian-U.S. arms control negotiations, Moscow yesterday appeared to reject out of hand a deal which Washington reportedly offered to win Russia's agreement to changes in the 1972 ABM treaty. Reports of the new U.S. offer--which surfaced on... MORE

On October 18, Defense Minister Esen Topoev reported to President Askar Akaev that Kyrgyzstan's territory has finally been completely cleared of the Uzbek-led Islamic rebels. The Kyrgyz military in any case continues its search for rebel groups in the mountains along the Tajik border. The... MORE

The government in Uzbekistan has tried to maintain tight controls over the economy, and the foreign exchange market in particular. In the eyes of the Karimov government, this has served the country well, as Uzbekistan recorded the CIS's smallest cumulative decline in GDP during 1992-1998.... MORE

Kyrgyzstan has generally been regarded as the most rapid economic reformer in Central Asia. It was the first CIS country to join the World Trade Organization, and has been widely praised by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank for its prudent macroeconomic policies. Bishkek's... MORE

As Russia protests to the West that the problem in Chechnya is one of international terrorism and will be resolved as such through negotiations (NTV, RTR, ORT, October 19), federal forces in the region continue to move aggressively toward its center. Aleksandr Zdanovich, head of... MORE

As previously noted, there is reason for skepticism when it comes to the ability or willingness of top Russian officials to combat crime and corruption (see the Monitor, October 19). One need only look back to October 1994, when then Interior Minister Viktor Yerin appealed... MORE

The first day of a Moscow conference bringing together top law enforcement officials from the Group of Seven leading industrialized countries with their Russian counterparts ended yesterday, with U.S. attorney Janet Reno saying that she was "very gratified" by assurances she received from Prime Minister... MORE

Moscow is a relatively new convert to the antiterrorism crusade. The Soviet Union was a major sponsor of international terrorism, and the one-time Soviet officials who continue to dominate Moscow's intelligence and foreign policy establishments have encouraged a rebuilding of ties with the Soviet Union's... MORE

International terrorism was the flavor of the day for Russian officialdom yesterday, as the Kremlin sought to mute foreign criticism of Russia's military operations in Chechnya while Moscow's UN ambassador won Security Council approval of an antiterrorist resolution. The Kremlin press service reported yesterday that... MORE

The presidential election, scheduled for November 6, has produced a split between incumbent President Imomali Rahmonov and the United Tajik Opposition (UTO), and a parallel split within the UTO. Last week, the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) disqualified all three presidential candidates from the opposition after... MORE