Michel Camdessus, director of the International Monetary Fund, told the newspaper "Kommersant daily" that Russia has a good chance to receive aid if its government has "a clear program." Camdessus said that to receive further IMF funds, the Russian government must take the steps it... MORE

The Primakov push may be one sign of a growing backlash against Luzhkov's increasingly open presidential bid. Indeed, Primorsky Governor Nazdratenko and Saratov Governor Dmitri Ayatskov, when asked by NTV about the spate of recent comments from Luzhkov about a possible presidential run, did not... MORE

The idea of Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov as a candidate for the next presidential elections--slated, constitutionally, for the year 2000--is suddenly gaining currency. In an interview Sunday night on "Itogi," NTV television's influential weekly news analysis program, two regional governors strongly supported a Primakov candidacy.... MORE

Five residents of the capital Tashkent went on public trial on October 14, all held in an iron cage in the courtroom. Charges against them include "spreading extremist religious books" and conspiring to overthrow the constitutional system, plus the panoply of drug-and-arms-related charges, common to... MORE

Security forces loyal to Dushanbe report the arrest of a large "extortionist gang" in the city of Hujand, the administrative seat of Leninabad region. Headed by a factory director, the group included fifteen military officers, among them a colonel who served as deputy commander of... MORE

Azerbaijan's Central Electoral Commission (CEC) announced yesterday the final official returns of the October 11 presidential election. It credited incumbent President Haidar Aliev with 76 percent of the votes cast, Etibar Mamedov with 11.6 percent, Nizami Suleimanov with 8.6 percent and three other candidates with... MORE

All CIS countries other than Russia are parties to the Trans-Asian-European Optical Fiber Cable Line, which became operational on October 14 and has nothing to do with the CIS as an organization. Germany's Siemens and other Western companies have carried out the work since 1995.... MORE

In a vote described as "historic," the Latvian parliament adopted overwhelmingly yesterday a new section of the country's constitution. The section, dealing with human rights, incorporates the norms of the international pacts to which Latvia is signatory. In addition, a new constitutional paragraph enshrines the... MORE

The Moldovan government announced yesterday that it has approved the plan to turn the control of the country's entire gas supply system over to Gazprom. The handover will repay a part of Moldova's arrears to the Russian state monopoly. Gazprom will hold 51 percent of... MORE

Hashimoto's initiative led to two informal summit meetings between the Japanese leader and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. At the first, in Krasnoyarsk in November of 1997, the two men pledged to do their utmost to conclude a peace treaty by the year 2000. At the... MORE