The Tajik government announced yesterday that it has changed the name of the Peak of Communism into Peak of Ismail Samani. The 7,495-meter peak in the Pamir Mountains is Tajikistan's highest; its earlier name had been Stalin Peak (International agencies, October 5). Communist place names... MORE

After a rift in the Left-of-Center faction in parliament (see the Monitor, October 2), another significant left-of-center force, the Social Democratic Party (United), has split in two. A conference of the SDP(U) on October 3 by a vote of 245 to 2 elected an affluent... MORE

A spokesman for the Russian Space Agency (RSA) announced in Moscow yesterday a US$60 million deal whereby NASA will purchase research time on the international space station from Russia. The deal, which must still be approved by Congress, is intended both to help the cash-strapped... MORE

According to virtually complete returns, issued yesterday, Latvia's parliamentary election saw a high turnout of 73 percent of eligible voters. Six parties and blocs overcame the 5 percent barrier to gain parliamentary representation and share the 100 seats according to the proportional principle. International monitors... MORE

While the Kremlin was--in official terms at least--urging the Serbs to comply swiftly with recent UN resolutions, a host of leading Russian politicians were unequivocally denouncing NATO in the harshest terms for its threat of strikes on Yugoslavia. Russian defense chief Igor Sergeev, for example,... MORE

The heads of thirteen of Russia's largest oil companies have attacked what they say is the government's plans to raise taxes on oil exports. The tax hike is reportedly part of an emergency budget which the government has drafted to plug holes in state financing... MORE

Deputy Economics Minister Nikolai Shamrayev, said today (October 6) that Russia's gross domestic product will shrink by 5.5-6 percent this year. Speaking at a conference of gas company executives and analysts, he also reported that without further loans from the International Monetary Fund, inflation will... MORE

Russian government ministers who met with President Slobodan Milosevic on Sunday warned the Yugoslav leader that his country faces NATO air strikes--unless he takes "decisive measures" to end the crisis in Kosovo. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin told reporters yesterday that the Russian delegation--which... MORE

Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov continues to act very much like a man bent on becoming Russia's head of state. Luzhkov, who called last week for the formation of a left-center coalition, made positive noises about Grigory Yavlinsky, head of the reformist Yabloko movement, during a... MORE

The secretary-general of NATO, Javier Solana, conferred with President Robert Kocharian and other Armenian officials in Yerevan on October 1-2. In an article prepared in advance for the Armenian press, Solana wrote that NATO has "direct interests" in this region which forms a part of... MORE