Confusion continues over the appointment of Communist Party member Yuri Maslyukov to the Russian government as minister of industry and trade. The Kremlin made a formal announcement of the appointment, but the Communist Party leadership told Maslyukov not to accept the post. What did become... MORE

Defense Secretary William Cohen has been quoted in a Russian newspaper as saying that the United States is prepared to help Russia reform its beleaguered armed forces. In remarks published by Nezavisimaya gazeta, Cohen said that the United States is aware of the importance of... MORE

Leading Japanese politicians will join with academics and other Japanese experts on Russia in the formation of an organization devoted to boosting relations between Japan and Russia, organizers said in Tokyo on July 22. The new organization, to be called the Japan-Russia Friendship Forum 21,... MORE

According to Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, there are too many foreign films on Russian TV promoting violence. Luzhkov has called for a law to protect Russian language and culture and counter this trend. (Radio Mayak, July 21) ALLA PUGACHEVA TO RUN FOR PARLIAMENT.

Russian pop idol Alla Pugacheva is planning to run for election to the State Duma in Engels, the second largest city in Saratov Oblast. The Monitor's correspondent in the Volga region says Pugacheva will run for the seat vacated in May when Communist deputy Oleg... MORE

Alyaksandr Lukashenka yesterday lashed out at Russia for imposing an import duty surcharge on goods coming to Russia via Belarus. "Moscow should not have acted without consultation with Minsk. It is the umpteenth time that Russia takes unilateral steps. We won't run to them anymore.... MORE

Even as Lukashenka chastised Russia from Vitsyabsk, his foreign minister Ivan Antanovich admonished the West from Minsk. "Western countries must build their policy on the premise that Belarus has centuries-old commitments, including the union with the great Russian people and the other peoples of the... MORE

Vice-President Albert Gore visited Ukraine on July 22-23 to co-chair a session of the U.S.-Ukrainian interstate commission (Gore-Kuchma commission), with three issues dominating the agenda. -- Ukrainian Reforms. Persuading governing circles in Kyiv to enact economic reforms, in order to qualify for International Monetary Fund... MORE

On a state visit to Britain from July 20 to July 23, Azerbaijani President Haidar Aliev urged Western countries to expand their economic and political presence in the countries of the South Caucasus. Aliev expressed concern over the presence of Russian military bases in the... MORE

The U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Strobe Talbott, and Deputy Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Ralston, paid an impromptu visit to Tbilisi yesterday to hold talks with President Eduard Shevardnadze, Parliament Chairman Zurab Zhvania and Defense Minister Davit Tevzadze. The confidential... MORE