On a request from President Leonid Kuchma, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has launched a massive attack against misappropriations in Ukraine's most lucrative industry--energy. Speaking at a press conference on April 21, Deputy Prosecutor General Olha Kolinko unveiled the scale of corruption: Over 360 criminal... MORE

A special session of the Lithuanian parliament yesterday approved a motion expressing confidence in Prime Minister Gediminas Vagnorius' ability to continue in office and to fulfill the government's program, and favorably assessing both the prime minister's and the government's records. The motion in this form... MORE

Russian President Boris Yeltsin and visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, after a meeting yesterday in Moscow, proclaimed that their two countries had opened a new chapter in bilateral relations. The talks, which followed a meeting a day earlier between Sharif and Russian Prime Minister... MORE

There is little question that yesterday's Federation Council vote on Skuratov was a huge blow to President Boris Yeltsin's prestige and power. Krasnoyarsk Governor Aleksandr Lebed, who voted against Skuratov, said afterward that the vote marked the collapse of presidential power in Russia (Russian agencies,... MORE

The vote on Skuratov's fate was taken yesterday after the Federation Council elected to discuss the issue in a closed session. Skuratov had asked the Federation Council to release him from his duties because he was unable to work "under the current circumstances." He reportedly... MORE

In a vote described by some as a shock to the Kremlin, the Federation Council yesterday voted a second time not to accept the resignation of Yuri Skuratov as Russia's prosecutor general. The parliament's upper chamber voted 79-61 in favor of Skuratov keeping his job... MORE

Former Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin--now serving as the Kremlin's special envoy for the Kosovo crisis-- arrived in Belgrade today. "We came with concrete proposals to stop the Yugoslav tragedy. The Russian initiative is backed by leaders of other CIS countries which I toured before my... MORE

In yet another move aimed at protesting NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia, Russia's Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov announced yesterday that Moscow will indeed boycott this week's fiftieth anniversary NATO summit in Washington. A Russian Foreign Ministry statement explaining the Russian decision to forego the NATO... MORE

Russian army troops in Tajikistan are said to number some 8,000 to 9,000 at present, including 6,500 troops of the 201st motor-rifle division. The force is massively armed with armor and artillery, possesses some tactical aviation and is said to control arms stockpiles for a... MORE

On April 16 in the Kremlin, Presidents Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Imomali Rahmonov of Tajikistan signed an alliance agreement, formally called the "Treaty on Allied Cooperation into the Twenty-First Century." The same day, the defense ministers, Marshal Igor Sergeev and Colonel-General Sherali Hairulloev signed... MORE