Rem Vyakhirev was re-elected the chairman of Gazprom at the annual shareholders meeting on June 26, while State Property Minister Farid Gazizullin was appointed chairman of the board. Rumors that the government, which holds 40 percent of Gazprom shares, would try to remove him proved... MORE

The legal department of the upper house of the Russian parliament--the Federation Council--has told the Republic of Tatarstan that it must bring its bill on republic citizenship into line with federal legislation. Tatarstan's State Council adopted a bill on citizenship in the first reading in... MORE

As of September 1, labels on all popular consumer goods sold in Tatarstan must be printed in both the state languages of the republic--Russian and Tatar. The new regulation, adopted last week, will apply to goods imported from outside Russia as well as to goods... MORE

Chechnya is ready to send a contingent of peacekeeping forces to Kosovo, as long as Yugoslavia or Western countries agree to finance it, Chechen representatives told the Kosovo Albanians at a recent meeting. According to Chechen Foreign Minister Movladi Udugov, "Chechnya intends to participate in... MORE

Chechnya has taken another step in its effort to gain international recognition. The Chechen Foreign Ministry has requested UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to accept the Chechen Republic as a member. In addition, the packet of documents addressed to Annan contains a copy of the... MORE

President Guntis Ulmanis yesterday found himself unable to promulgate the amendments to the citizenship law adopted by the parliament on June 22 after a divisive debate. The changes facilitate the mass naturalization of the Russian population (details in the Monitor, June 23). Following that vote,... MORE

Communist leader Petro Symonenko yesterday again fell short of winning the powerful post of chairman of parliament. Receiving only 207 votes, a slight slippage from his previous showing, he needed 226 for victory in the 450-seat chamber. The anticommunist coalition, comprised mainly of pro-presidential and... MORE

Kazakhstani grain-producers are facing two new challenges. One is that grain yields have fallen substantially since the Soviet period. Compared with a 1997 grain output of 12.3 million tons and exports of 3.5 million, Kazakhstan this year is expected to have a lower than average... MORE

Russia's bond and equity markets continued their downward plunge yesterday as President Boris Yeltsin called on the State Duma to approve without delay the government's package of tax-raising laws. Although Yeltsin said it was inaccurate to call the measures an "anti-crisis" program "because we have... MORE

The Kremlin announced yesterday that Russian President Boris Yeltsin will travel to Warsaw in December of this year for a summit meeting with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski. The announcement, made by presidential spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky, followed talks in the Kremlin between the two leaders. Kwasniewski,... MORE