Moscow's KFOR contingent found itself at the center of a rising tide of violence in Kosovo yesterday as Russian soldiers shot dead three Serbs who had attacked a carload of ethnic Albanians. The incident, the bloodiest experienced yet by the international peacekeeping force in Kosovo,... MORE

New charges continue to appear concerning alleged high-level Russian corruption, some of them emanating from media outlets which have no clear stake in either the American or Russian legislative or presidential elections. On September 5, for example, British media reported that a firm controlled by... MORE

Congressman Tom Lantos and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov met in Moscow yesterday to discuss the ongoing scandal surrounding alleged moneylaundering from Russia through the Bank of New York. Following the meeting, Lantos--a Democrat from California--quoted Ivanov as saying that in the "near future" the... MORE

Military operations against Islamic rebels came to a standstill on September 1-2 in Kyrgyzstan's Batken and Chon-Alai districts, amid growing indications of friction between the governments of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The Kyrgyz do not want Uzbekistan to use the rebellion as an opportunity for playing... MORE

Oleksandr Moroz, who leads the Socialist Party of Ukraine (SPU), is one of the most experienced among Ukraine's current presidential contenders. As chairman of the Verkhovna Rada from 1994-98, Moroz built for himself a platform as the top political rival to President Leonid Kuchma. That... MORE

Contrary to information in the Russian mass media, Russian troops have been unable to retake the Dagestani towns of Karamakhi and Chabanmakhi from armed Islamists (see the Monitor, September 2). By the evening of September 2, Russian troops had managed to occupy only the outskirts... MORE

Moscow's denial of any major submarine deal with China came amidst a flurry of activity by the Russian government on another set of Asian security issues. On the first of a four-day visit to South Korea, Russian Defense Minister Igor Sergeev yesterday announced that Moscow... MORE

Russian Foreign Ministry sources yesterday strongly denied press reports suggesting that Moscow is near to finalizing a deal under which it would agree to sell China two nuclear powered submarines. Sources were quoted as saying that no such talks are currently being held with China,... MORE

Yesterday, in an apparent attempt to assuage hurt Russian feelings, several Western leaders called for continued aid to Russia from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and cast doubt on Western press reports alleging that billions of dollars were laundered through Western banks. German Chancellor Gerhard... MORE

In the course of two appearances yesterday, Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov has unveiled an appreciable hardening of Russia's tone toward CIS countries and a corresponding disposition to obstruct those countries' relations with the West. Speaking to both Moscow foreign affairs students and a selected... MORE