Kazakhstan's Committee for National Security (KNB) has let a few cats out of the bag of the obscure espionage affair involving a KNB major-general (see the Monitor, January 27). Without disclosing his name, the agency says that the officer was a veteran of the Kazakhstan... MORE

President Haidar Aliev's return to active duty since January 30 has been accompanied by both official protests against Russia's military presence in Armenia and some suggestions of possible countermeasures (see the Monitor, February 2). On February 2, the head of the Yeni [New] Azerbaijan Party... MORE

A high-profile Ukrainian delegation headed by Premier Valery Pustovoytenko, Finance Minister Ihor Mityukov and Economics Minister Vasyl Rohovy arrived in Washington yesterday with the intent of persuading the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to resume a US$2.2 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) program in Ukraine. Ukrainian... MORE

The Clinton administration has reportedly warned Moscow that it will cut US$50 million from its 1999 aid package to Russia if Moscow follows through on a sale of advanced anti-tank missiles to Syria. According to a UPI report, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Martin Indyk... MORE

Russia will, over the next several years, reportedly train several hundred Iranians to operate the controversial Bushehr nuclear power plant which Russia is building for Iran. According to Russian news sources, the first group of these specialists is scheduled to arrive at the Novovoronezh nuclear... MORE

The raid on Sibneft would appear to be the latest blow against Berezovsky's shadow empire. Last month, Berezovsky's automobile company, LogoVAZ, was struck from the list of shareholders of Transaero, in which it held a 12.3 percent stake. Other firms reportedly owned by Berezovsky control... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin, who has been recovering from a stomach ulcer, showed up in the Kremlin briefly yesterday, accepted Prosecutor General Yuri Skuratov's resignation, fired four of his own advisers, then headed back to the Barvikha sanatorium outside Moscow. Skuratov, who cited poor health as... MORE

Yesterday's events--particularly Skuratov's resignation and the search of oil company Sibneft's offices--have, not surprisingly, yielded a host of contradictory "versions." The Sibneft search was reportedly made on the basis of allegations that a private security firm under Boris Berezovsky's control had been spying on top... MORE

Azerbaijan President Haidar Aliev's return to Baku and active duty, following medical treatment in Turkey, will probably not defuse the questions about his actual condition and a probable incipient scramble for succession. Aliev underwent treatment at Turkey's Gulhane Military Medical Academy as a personal guest... MORE

According to the latest Gallup poll, the head of the extreme "red" Progressive Socialist Party, Natalya Vitrenko, is a potential leader in the upcoming Ukrainian presidential race. Popular support for Vitrenko has grown from 6 percent in September 1998 to 15 percent in January. She... MORE