The U.S. House of Representatives Banking and Financial Services Committee, chaired by Representative James Leach, opens hearings today into alleged Russian money laundering and corruption. The first witness will be U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers, who will undoubtedly be questioned about allegations that... MORE

In an apparent effort to ensure that Russia's crackdown in the Caucasus--not to mention its policing actions in Moscow--are not cast by the international community in ethnic or humanitarian terms, Russian diplomats have gone to great lengths in recent days to describe its efforts as... MORE

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov arrived at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York yesterday with his eyes seemingly set on two sets of international issues. One of those--whether intervention by the world community is justified in situations entailing gross abuse of civil rights--is... MORE

Some politicians and observers have put forward conspiratorial explanations for the war in Dagestan and the bombing campaign in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia. And by no means all of those promoting these theories are anti-Yeltsin extremists in the mold of Viktor Ilyukhin, the radical... MORE

On September 18-19 the Russian air force carried out more than 100 bombing raids on guerrilla bases and concentrations of fighters on the territory of Chechnya. In addition, at the beginning of next week two battalions--which boast tanks equipped with flame-throwers--will be sent into Dagestan.... MORE

In retrospect, the thrust of the June military exercise and the anti-NATO chest-thumping by Russian military leaders which accompanied it looks a little misguided. This point was made soon afterward by President Boris Yeltsin, who told a gathering of the top brass on July 2... MORE

The Russian Defense Ministry expressed "surprise and regret" over the weekend following an incident in which U.S. fighter jets scrambled to intercept Russian bombers headed toward Alaska. U.S. Air Force officials said on September 18 that a pair of Russian Tu-95MS "Bear-H" bombers had shown... MORE

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Hennady Udovenko and former Environment Minister Yuri Kostenko, leaders of the two rival wings of the Rukh, are both running in next month's presidential race. As contenders representing a single party, they continue tearing apart this once formidable political force. The... MORE

Moscow maintained its opposition this week to UN and NATO plans to transform the Kosovo Liberation Army into a largely civil force. But Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov yesterday rebuffed a Defense Ministry claim that Moscow's dissatisfaction with the NATO-led peacekeeping effort might lead Russia... MORE

Republican criticism of the Clinton administration translated earlier this week into approval by the House of legislation requiring the president to take punitive action against any country, foreign company or individual guilty of helping Iran develop weapons of mass destruction or the missiles to carry... MORE