The Clinton administration last week was accused of squandering American taxpayer money in mismanaging two government aid programs aimed at stopping the proliferation of Russian military technologies and know-how. The U.S. Congress's General Accounting Office (GAO) said in a study released on February 22 that... MORE

On February 26, the UN Secretary General's special envoy for Tajikistan, Jan Kubis, expressed "deep concern about the crisis of confidence" between that government and its opposition. Kubis singled out the refusal of opposition forces in Tavildara and Karategin to disarm--and even their proposals that... MORE

Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, accompanied by Defense Minister Davit Tevzadze, Foreign Minister Irakly Menagarishvili and senior economic officials, held talks with their Turkish counterparts in Ankara and Istanbul on February 26-27. Ajaria's leader, Aslan Abashidze, a Russian-oriented challenger to Shevardnadze, joined the Georgian delegation--a tribute... MORE

Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze yesterday went on Russian state television to carry his criticism of the CIS Collective Security Treaty to an unprecedented extent. Having recently asserted that the treaty was "not working" and "brought Georgia no good," Shevardnadze pointed out that the treaty can... MORE

The ten-year-old People's Movement of Ukraine--commonly known as the Rukh, the main opponent of Ukraine's communists in late 1980s and early 1990s--has split. The cause of the rift: its leadership and selection of a candidate for the upcoming October presidential elections. Yesterday the Rukh's congress... MORE

Thousands of residents demonstrated on February 27 in central Minsk against the authorities' apparent encouragement of the penetration of Russian Nazism in Belarus. The democratic opposition called the demonstration in response to recent actions of supporters of Russian National Unity (RNE) who--sporting Nazi uniforms with... MORE

The parliamentary assembly chairwoman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Helle Degn of Denmark, paid a high-profile visit to Moldova on February 24-26. The visit and her statements signaled that the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) intends to press for the withdrawal... MORE

In an interview yesterday with "Zerkalo," RTR's weekly news analysis program, Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky warned Primakov that people will judge his honesty and decency "not only by his own steps, but, given that he is the head of the government, also by those with... MORE

On February 25 a Russian daily published the contents of what it said were official documents from investigations into various high-level corruption cases. While the newspaper left out the names of those implicated, referring only to their cabinet positions, it was clear to whom it... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin's return to the hospital for ulcer treatment, along with Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov's sudden vacation, gave observers much food for thought over the weekend. Political scientist Igor Bunin said Yeltsin, in sending Primakov on vacation, was attempting to show who's boss. "Boris... MORE