As a lower-level substitute for the planned summit aborted by Moscow (see the Monitor, November 19, 25), deputy foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine and Moldova and the head of the OSCE's mission in Moldova conferred on November 30 in Kyiv. Transdniester was invited but declined... MORE

On November 29, in the Kizlyar regions of Dagestan, which borders Chechnya, a group of Interior Ministry troops from Murmansk Oblast were attacked. Five of them were killed, one seriously injured. The group was ambushed on the outskirts of the village of Sterna, not far... MORE

In Djohar, formerly Grozny, a scandalous version of the freeing of Valentin Vlasov, Russia's political representative to Chechnya, is making the rounds. According to this version, Russia's special services paid a large amount of money for Vlasov's release. Some Chechen officials say they can document... MORE

The government of Pakistan on November 28 decried a series of new arms deals between Russia and India and warned that the provision of sophisticated weaponry by Moscow to New Delhi could worsen tensions in South Asia. "We note with disappointment that Russia, despite being... MORE

The extent to which Russia's economic woes have hamstrung efforts to fulfill at least some of the country's key diplomatic goals was evident yesterday in a message sent by the Kremlin to U.S. President Bill Clinton and other participants at an international donor conference for... MORE

Questions marks hanging over a controversial missile deal between Russia and Cyprus have increased in recent days while political authorities in Cyprus and Greece send mixed signals about delivery of the missiles. The latest chapter in the long dispute over the deployment of Russian S-300... MORE

None of the parties in the Gaidar-Chubais coalition--including Russia's Democratic Choice, led by Gaidar--managed in 1995 to win 5 percent of the popular vote, which any given party needs in order to have parliamentary representation. However, Gaidar, in an interview published today, noted that, taken... MORE

The center-right coalition made up of such luminaries as former Acting Premier Yegor Gaidar and privatization architect Anatoly Chubais has reportedly hit another snag--one which could be deadly. "Kommersant daily" reported today that former Prime Minister Sergei Kirienko, who was among the politicians who signed... MORE

Although Latvian voters expressed a clear preference for free-market and pro-Western parties at the recent parliamentary elections, the country has ended up with a minority government dependent on a heterogeneous combination of political groups. The October 3 elections (see the Monitor, October 6, 9) had... MORE

The prime ministers' meeting created a "working group" to prepare an anticrisis program that would focus on: removing restrictions to intra-CIS trade, facilitating interbank and barter settlements, and repatriating national currencies. They also signed agreements of intent to create a CIS common agricultural market and... MORE