The prime ministers' conclave discussed inconclusively the status and mandate of reformed management bodies of the CIS. One of these, the Executive Committee, is the would-be successor to two defunct institutions: the CIS Executive Secretariat and the Interstate Economic Committee. The Secretariat had been a... MORE

The prime ministers of CIS member countries held a regular meeting on October 8 in Yalta, Ukraine. The stated goal of creating by January 2000 a CIS-wide free trade area topped the meeting's agenda. Yet the meeting turned into a funeral of that project after... MORE

The mud flew fast and thick in the Russian media over the weekend, with NTV television, founded by Vladimir Gusinsky, listing new corruption allegations against the Kremlin inner circle, and Russian Public Television (ORT), which is said to be controlled by Boris Berezovsky, taking aim... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin's latest hospitalization has resparked discussion of how long the president will remain in office. Admitted over the weekend for the flu, Yeltsin reportedly left the Central Clinical Hospital today and went to his Gorky-9 residence outside of Moscow to recuperate (Reuters, October... MORE

Russian diplomats moved along a different but related path yesterday, launching a diplomatic initiative ostensibly aimed at explaining to Middle Eastern leaders the reasons for Russia's military operations in the Caucasus. diplomatic sources indicated that Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov intends to soon dispatch envoys to... MORE

Russian officials have in recent days continued to reject international mediation of the conflict in Chechnya. Moscow has simultaneously stepped up its warnings to Arab governments that they should avoid providing any aid to the Chechen insurgents. The first of these messages was addressed to... MORE

On his October 4-6 official visit to South Korea, Uzbek President Islam Karimov wrapped up an agreement with the Kabool Textiles Company to equip Uzbek cotton-processing plants. Kabool will build 1 million spindles in Uzbekistan, at a cost of US$1 billion, as part of a... MORE

In a broadcast to the country on October 6, President Eduard Shevardnadze announced a development "of no lesser significance than joining the United Nations"--namely, the admission of Georgia to the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO at its October 6 session in Geneva officially approved... MORE

Approximately one week after his return from talks with Iranian oil officials in Baghdad, Russian Fuel and Energy Minister Viktor Kalyuzhny appears to be putting a different spin on both the results of his negotiations and on Russian economic policy toward Baghdad. Reports published at... MORE

The political mudslinging in the Russian media is becoming more intense with each passing day, making it evident that Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov is very much a target. Today the newspaper Segodnya, which belongs to the Seven Days publishing house, itself a part of Vladimir... MORE