The prime ministers of CIS countries held a regular meeting on June 4 in Minsk amid unusual confidentiality. Billed in advance by Moscow as apt to breathe new life into the CIS, the meeting ended with "compromise decisions" on the two issues at the top... MORE

Another leading Russian politician unhappy with the alleged designs of the Kremlin inner circles is Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who, according to some media reports, the Kremlin has targeted for political "neutralization." On June 4 Luzhkov issued another warning, saying "[I will not] stand by... MORE

Meanwhile, Aleksei Venediktov, chief editor at the radio station Ekho Moskvy, said that the main issue involved in the power struggle among Kremlin insiders is not who will control financial flows, but who will be the presidential candidate next year--Stepashin or First Deputy Prime Minister... MORE

While most Russian politicians and media were focused all weekend on the celebrations honoring the 200th anniversary of the poet Aleksandr Pushkin, the festivities and the summer weather in the Russian capital were not enough to divert their attention completely from the ongoing power struggles... MORE

As had been expected, Russian special envoy Viktor Chernomyrdin--who has been the Kremlin's pointman in the Kosovo negotiations--was the target of much criticism in Moscow over the weekend for the peace agreement accepted by Belgrade on June 3. Russian grumbling over the agreement had started... MORE

Talks on implementing a Kosovo peace plan collapsed today. NATO officials accused Yugoslavia of having put forth troop withdrawal proposals which would not ensure the safety of returning refugees. The alliance has "no alternative but to continue and intensify the air campaign until such time... MORE

Concerns that last week's capitulation by Belgrade had come a little too easily were justified over the weekend as talks between NATO and Yugoslav generals ended in a stalemate while criticism of the West's diplomatic "victory" in Kosovo mounted among Russian officials. The complications which... MORE

Incomplete returns, available as of today, indicate that the Unity (Miasnutiun) bloc has gained at least a plurality of the parliamentary seats in the May 30 election in Armenia. Such an outcome had been anticipated by most local observers (see the Monitor, May 28) on... MORE

On June 2, amid heavy security precautions, the Supreme Court of Uzbekistan began the trial of twenty-two alleged participants in the February 16 terrorist bomb attacks in Tashkent. Those explosions killed sixteen people and injured more than 100, narrowly missing President Islam Karimov and other... MORE

Leftists in the Ukrainian parliament, continuing their offensive against Premier Valery Pustovoytenko, have persuaded the country's legislature to consider dismissing the government. On June 3, the parliament--by 242 votes to 8--decided to "consider the government's responsibility for the social and economic situation" on June 16--in... MORE