Some 4,000 workers at Russia's leading nuclear center in Sarov in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast are threatening to down tools on Thursday, July 23. (Itar-Tass, July 21) They are demanding payment of wage arrears and a 50 percent pay increase. This is the first time that... MORE

In Chechnya, the operation to disarm fighters of the Shariah Guards and the Special Islamic Battalion continues. All approaches to the capital, Djohar, have been blocked by security forces. Meanwhile, fighters from the disbanded groups are gathering in the village of Starye Atagi, at the... MORE

The danger is increasing that neighboring Dagestan will be drawn into the conflict in Chechnya. Shamil Basaev, who was appointed this week as deputy commander-in-chief of Chechnya's armed forces, is the leader of the "Congress of the Peoples of Chechnya and Dagestan"--an organization that aims... MORE

Ukraine is opening up the once super-secret Soviet naval port of Sevastopol. The Ukrainian government has issued a resolution allowing foreign civilian and military vessels access to Sevastopolska Bay, and foreign civilian vessels access to Kamyshova Bay. (Eastern Economist Daily (Kyiv), July 21) Last week... MORE

Moldovan President Petru Lucinschi and Transdniester leader Igor Smirnov held day-long talks yesterday in Chisinau, their second meeting this year. They announced that they have reached no results on political issues: Chisinau offers Transdniester far-reaching autonomy within Moldova's internationally recognized borders, while Transdniester insists on... MORE

Armenia's Yerkrapah ["paramilitary volunteer"] Union, a public organization without political status, is becoming a political party by merger. The move amounts, in practice, to Yerkrapah's absorption of the small, nationalist Republican Party, which gives the Union that party's name and, therefore, its legal status. Yerkrapah... MORE

Major General Valery Chkheidze, commander of Georgia's border troops, made public yesterday key parts of Tbilisi's plan to take over the control of national borders from Russian troops. The plan would entrust the protection of certain border sectors to specially formed units comprised of local... MORE

From July 18 through 20, the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata hosted the celebrations of the wedding of Aidar Akaev and Alia Nazarbaeva. They are the son and daughter, respectively, of Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev. Famous Kyrgyz novelist Chingiz Aitmatov... MORE

Four members of the UN Mission of Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT) were shot dead on July 20 near Labijar, 170 kilometers east of Dushanbe. They were traveling on assignment on the Tavildara-Garm highway. The victims are a Polish major, an Uruguayan major, a Japanese political... MORE

Meeting in Washington yesterday, the executive board of the IMF approved a financial aid package to Russia worth US$11.2 billion, of which only US$4.8 billion was tagged for immediate release, not the US$5.6 billion originally expected. The board cut the sum by US$800 million after... MORE