The second and final round of voting for St. Petersburg's legislative assembly took place Sunday. According to preliminary results, the Yabloko Party, led by economist Yuri Boldyrev, which had the strongest showing in the first round of voting on December 6, won only eight seats... MORE

Despite all the heated rhetoric which has come out of Moscow in recent days, there were indications over the weekend that Russian leaders do not want to push their criticism of Washington and London to the point that it threatens rupturing relations. Several Russian newspapers... MORE

Iraq continued to dominate the headlines in Moscow over the weekend, as Russia welcomed the end of four days of air strikes by U.S. and British forces and girded for what will probably be a series of new diplomatic battles with Washington and London over... MORE

Despite warnings from Azerbaijan, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has signed with the American Shell company and Britain's LASMO an agreement to prospect for oil and gas in a Caspian offshore area which apparently overlaps with the Azerbaijani sector. Iran does not recognize the... MORE

The chairman of Kyrgyzstan's Assembly of People's Representatives (lower house of parliament), Abdygany Erkebaev, yesterday welcomed President Askar Akaev's recent anticorruption measures (see the Monitor, December 14) but described them as belated and insufficient. Erkebaev compared Kyrgyzstan's measures unfavorably to the measures in neighboring Kazakhstan... MORE

In a statement yesterday to the authorities and the public, President Nursultan Nazarbaev expressed concern over "some instances" of violation of the electoral law by state officials in the course of the current presidential election campaign. Although those violations "cannot seriously affect the overall course... MORE

A group of five MiG-29 fighter planes landed on December 16 at Yerebuni military airport outside Yerevan. This represents the first move in a program to strengthen the aviation and air defense components of Russian forces based in Armenia. The batch of five were delivered... MORE

Following President Leonid Kuchma's latest attack on parliament and his suggestions that the constitution be amended by referendum (see the Monitor, December 16), the political council of the People's Democratic Party (NDP) of Ukraine has released a statement rebuking the head of state for his... MORE

The law on elections to local councils, passed on December 16 by the House of Representatives of Belarus, stipulates that individuals who have committed any offense, including "administrative offenses," may not seek elective office. According to the UCP, that provision is known to figure also... MORE

Fifty thousand people gathered Thursday in Djohar, Chechnya's capital, to demonstrate their support for Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov. Speakers called on the republic's leaders to avoid bloodshed, but said that Maskhadov must have special powers to stamp out crime. On Wednesday (December 16), Maskhadov promised... MORE