Communist deputies inRussia's State Duma moved a step closer to their goal of impeachingPresident Boris Yeltsin yesterday when they mustered enough votes to get theissue put on the parliament's agenda. The next stage is the creation of aparliamentary commission. It will consider the charges brought... MORE

Russia appeared to find itselfisolated yesterday as leading Western nations began moving toward consensuson military sanctions against Serbia to stem the escalating violence inKosovo. To varying degrees, Britain, France, Germany and the United Statesall indicated a renewed willingness to consider force as a means ofpreventing... MORE

Yeltsin did say yesterday that he wouldseek a meeting with Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic in an effort towin an easing of the violence in Serbia. "The more softly I speak the betterthe chances of a meeting," Yeltsin was quoted as saying. He said that he... MORE

Aside from announcements related to theKosovo crisis, Russian President Boris Yeltsin used the second and final dayof a two-day Russian-German summit in Bonn yesterday to emphasize hispersonal friendship with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. In turn, the Germanleader, who in the past has taken some heat... MORE

Tensions between Moscow and Ankara flaredyesterday when a Russian daily reported that Russian S-300 air defensemissiles had been delivered to Cyprus. A representative of the Russian statearms trading company Rosvooruzhenie later denied the report, saying that themissile complexes were still in Russia and would not... MORE

Voters inBashkortostan will go to the polls on June 14 to elect the president oftheir republic. The event is proving controversial because the localelectoral authorities have formally approved the candidacies of only two offive aspiring individuals. One of the two is the incumbent president,Murtaza Rakhimov.... MORE

Early this week, residents of the Ossetianvillage of Zilgi seized several dozen Ingush traveling by bus to the town ofMineralnye Vody, and held them hostage. The hostage-takers wanted toexchange them for their own relatives, who had been kidnapped by Ingushbandits. Government officials managed to persuade... MORE

Official CIS Goskomstat data forthe eleven CIS economies in the first quarter of the year show somesuccesses, but most of the economies have still not shaken off theireconomic depressions. (CIS Goskomstat bulletin, Finansovye izvestia, 21 May). Kyrgyzstan and Georgia led the pack with reported GDP... MORE

The Baltic Challenge-98military exercise, involving some 4,500 troops from twelve NATO and Balticcountries, begins today in Lithuania. Baltic Challenge overlaps with anotherfour military and naval undertakings: Smooth Road, the exercise of the jointEstonian-Latvian-Lithuanian Battalion, Baltbat (see the Monitor, June 9); aLatvian paramilitary exercise envisaging NATO-assisted... MORE

Riga respondedyesterday to the publication in the Moscow press of a "black list" ofLatvian companies said to be targeted for economic sanctions by the Russiangovernment. The fifteen companies--mostly transportation firms, portterminals and banks--are accused of supporting the Fatherland andFreedom/National Independence Movement, headed by Prime Minister... MORE