Despite the Primakov cabinet's "success" in winning a promise of new credits from the IMF, rumors in Moscow persist that the Kremlin is mulling over who will replace the prime minister. Several media have noted that earlier this week, when President Boris Yeltsin fired First... MORE

During meetings yesterday in Moscow, meanwhile, Russian leaders apparently emphasized to visiting UN Secretary General Kofi Annan their desire that the UN take the lead role in Kosovo. Annan appeared to avoid any direct comment on Russian ideas for ending the crisis, though Russian sources... MORE

The reviews are coming in on the new deal between Russia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and it is safe to say that it the critics are, in general, less than overwhelmed. One leading economic reformer, Boris Fedorov, Russia's former finance and deputy prime... MORE

Following another day of intense diplomatic consultations--this time in Moscow, Bonn and Rome--former Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin intimated yesterday that he had made some progress in brokering a diplomatic settlement between NATO and Yugoslavia. Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema echoed the sentiment after his... MORE

Two leading oil companies of the United States have signed oil contracts of multibillion-dollar value with Azerbaijan's State Oil Company (SOCAR). Azerbaijani President Haidar Aliev and senior U.S. government officials witnessed the signing on April 27 in Washington. Exxon signed an agreement which defines the... MORE

The Ukrainian government--with its empty coffers, stalled domestic investment and debts on international obligations and wages and pensions mounting--urgently needs external financing now, particularly with the presidential elections around the corner. The cabinet of Premier Valery Pustovoytenko hopes that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission,... MORE

Without an official notice, Moscow has canceled the Russian-Ukrainian-Moldovan summit scheduled for April 29-30 in Kyiv. Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and Moldovan President Petru Lucinschi were to have been joined at the summit by representatives of the Organization for Security... MORE

Karachaevo-Cherkesia's first election for the republic's head, which took place April 25, was characterized by large voter turnout: 77.3 percent of the voting population went to the polls. The frontrunners were 52-year-old Stanislav Derev, who, according to preliminary results, received 40.1 percent of the vote,... MORE

The news that the IMF and Russia have reached an agreement is likely to have its repercussions on Russia's political intrigues. Moscow continues to be rife with rumors that President Boris Yeltsin is planning to sack more members of Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov's cabinet. One... MORE

Russia's Foreign Ministry this week voiced anew its concerns over a Japanese-U.S. decision to increase their defense cooperation. Moscow's comments were occasioned by the Japanese lower house of parliament's approval on April 27 of three bills which would implement the upgraded U.S.-Japanese defense guidelines. These... MORE