Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin's trip to Washington is, in part, aimed at changing Russia's bad image among potential investors. To that end, the Russian prime minister spoke last night at a dinner hosted by the U.S.-Russia Business Council, which promotes investment in Russia. Stepashin... MORE

Despite the talk of Russian-U.S. relations having "turned a corner," there was evidence yesterday of enduring differences between the two countries. This pertained, in particular, to Yugoslavia. "There is no doubt... that we disagree [on] what was going on in Kosovo," Albright said. "Neither of... MORE

Efforts to repair relations between Russia and the United States got underway on two fronts yesterday, as U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright held talks with her Russian counterpart, Igor Ivanov, in Singapore, while Russian Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin continued a three-day visit to the... MORE

As Ukraine's presidential election campaign gathers steam, the contestants are increasingly using the issue of corruption as a political weapon against each other. That issue had figured prominently in Leonid Kuchma's successful presidential campaign five years ago and may significantly influence the outcome of the... MORE

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, the European Union (EU)'s External Affairs Commissioner Hans van den Broek and Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen of Finland--currently the EU's presiding country---chaired the Ukraine-EU third annual summit on July 23 in Kyiv. Although Kuchma, as host of the meeting, toned down... MORE

Norway's largest newspaper, the "Verdens Gang," made quite a splash two weeks ago when it claimed that the Russian Navy had been operating a secret chemical weapons plant near Murmansk for more than fifteen years. The paper even published a picture of this facility and... MORE

While attention is focused on the impending parliamentary race, the question of who will be Russia's head of state after next year's presidential vote remains a major focus of attention. Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, who finished up a tour of various Russian regions over the... MORE

Apparently undaunted, however, Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin traveled to Vladivostok yesterday, where he told reporters that the government should allocate more money for the navy. In remarks televised by Russian television, the prime minister said that the "navy needs one kind of help: a normal... MORE

Although he has said that he will not be a candidate in Russia's upcoming presidential election, Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin appeared over the weekend to be using a trip to Russia's Far East to do some old-fashioned politicking. In a Siberian defense industrial center, and... MORE

Three center-right electoral blocs planning to participate in December's parliamentary election agreed on July 23 to form a coalition and put forward a single slate of candidates. The three are Right Cause, which was represented at the meeting by United Energy Systems chief Anatoly Chubais;... MORE