On Monday evening, President Aslan Maskhadov--appearing on Chechen television wearing a military uniform for the first time since his election as president--called on the nation to rally around the Chechen leadership and to fight against kidnappers, those who steal oil and those who traffic in... MORE

The Russian government has introduced additional "economic measures" against Latvia, effective July 1. These include: a discriminatory 20 percent surcharge on the transit of most major goods to, from, and via Latvia; and new rules for banking transactions, virtually depriving Latvian exporters of short-term credit... MORE

The Moscow daily Izvestia disclosed on June 30 that Belarusan President Alyaksandr Lukashenka offended his Russian counterpart Boris Yeltsin during the international economic forum just held in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Complaining that the Council of Europe declines to admit Belarus even though it has admitted Russia,... MORE

Echoes of Yeltsin's 1993 military attack on the Russian parliament also reverberate in Kyiv, but with a different connotation. President Leonid Kuchma has more than once offered assurances that he, "unlike others," would not use force against a parliament whose left wing checkmates the president.... MORE

Deputy Prime Minister Abid Sharipov yesterday criticized the largest oil consortium active in Azerbaijan for "procrastinating" on the final choice of the route for the main export pipeline, destined for the "big" oil. The consortium, AIOC (Azerbaijan International Operating Company) tries to "make us forget... MORE

Abkhazia's self-styled prime minister, the defense minister and the envoy in Moscow warned in separate statements on June 30 and July 1 that Abkhaz forces would resist any attempt by Georgia's coastal guard to assume control of "Abkhazia's maritime border." The would-be defense minister, Vladimir... MORE

The theme of "Human Rights and Freedoms in Kazakhstan" was the symbolic choice for the first conference to be held in Astana since the new capital's official presentation. Opening the conference on June 18, the Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, Marat Tazhin, said the... MORE

Russia expressed its concern yesterday over an incident earlier in the day in which a U.S. F-16 warplane fired a missile at an Iraqi anti-aircraft site. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin said it was necessary to localize the incident and to ensure that tensions... MORE

Russia's newly named ambassador to Romania yesterday wasted no time in making clear Moscow's ongoing opposition to NATO's enlargement plans. Using some of the strongest language heard recently to set out Moscow's views, Valery Keneikin underlined especially Russia's determination to ensure that none of the... MORE

Russia's State Duma is meeting today to debate the package of austerity measures that the government says is essential to rescue the country from its financial crisis. Addressing the assembly this morning, Prime Minister Sergei Kirienko urged the Duma to approve the package of some... MORE