The Monitor's correspondent in the Volga region reports that Tatarstan's President Mintimer Shaimiev is taking revenge on those responsible for last month's tussle in which a competitor ran against the president's nominee for speaker of the republic's parliament. Shaimiev's candidate, Farid Mukhametshin, was eventually elected... MORE

The Monitor's correspondent in Saratov Oblast reports that a fresh bid is being made to have the region's liberal land law struck down. Our correspondent has learned that Russia's Prosecutor General had lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court against last month's decision by a... MORE

The first round of talks on confidence-building and security measures in the Black Sea opened yesterday in Kyiv. Represented by diplomatic and naval officials, the six riparian countries--Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey--are to draw up agreements on monitoring naval activities. Navies, unlike conventional... MORE

According to Gazprom chairman Rem Vyakhirev, pressure from Russia's Tax Service leaves Gazprom no choice but to call in the debts owed to it by Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova for past deliveries of gas. On the eve of negotiations in Kyiv, Vyakhirev complained that recent... MORE

President Robert Kocharian yesterday reinforced the warning that Armenia and Karabakh reserve the right to merge into a single state if Azerbaijan insists on maintaining legal sovereignty over Karabakh. "There is every legal ground for recognizing the independence of Karabakh and for its unification with... MORE

Armenian-American billionaire Kirk Kirkorian yesterday set aside US$250 million of his own funds to support Armenia's economic development. The initiative includes a US$100 million credit program to support small and medium-sized business in Armenia, US$85 million for building highways from Georgia's Black Sea ports Batumi... MORE

According to the Berezovsky-financed Nezavisimaya gazeta, "the U.S.A. plays a Turkmen card" against Russia. "The great wish is to let Turkmen gas reach Ukraine and East and West European countries. In that case, Russian gas would be ousted from those markets." The commentary posits that... MORE

Respectively claiming a diplomatic victory and celebrating the closing of a potentially lucrative business deal, New Delhi and Moscow initialed an agreement that calls for Russia to construct a nuclear power plant in southern India. The agreement comes despite worldwide condemnation of India's recent conduct... MORE

Russia expressed "surprise and regret" yesterday in connection with a decision by Swiss authorities to expel a Russian diplomat for alleged espionage activities. The unidentified diplomat was reported by Swiss media to have been a staff member of the Russian mission to Geneva-based United Nations... MORE

Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov used a television interview on June 21 to restate Moscow's demand that the West pressure Kosovo Albanian leaders into beginning talks with Belgrade even though Yugoslav authorities have not yet withdrawn police and special forces from Kosovo. Primakov called the... MORE