In his weekly radio address this morning, Russian President Boris Yeltsin appealed to Russia's striking coal miners to call off their blockade of Russia's railways. He said the week-long protests had gone beyond "reasonable bounds" and were causing the country immense economic harm. He urged... MORE

Newly appointed Prime Minister Sergei Kirienko promised to streamline the Russian governmental apparatus, which is notoriously Byzantine in structure. On May 15, Kirienko announced the abolition of thirty-six governmental commissions, which sounds impressive until one realizes that most of the key commissions are still in... MORE

The transfer of Russian missile technology to Iran is back in the news as the U.S. Senate prepares this week to vote on a bill that would impose sanctions on foreign companies or organizations found to be helping Iran develop ballistic missiles. The legislation, clearly... MORE

The speaker of Russia's Federation Council, Yegor Stroyev, said yesterday that he and Gennady Seleznev, the speaker of Russia's lower house, had agreed to speed up parliamentary ratification of the START II nuclear disarmament treaty. The agreement to step up the proceedings on the treaty... MORE

A bilateral Russian-Japanese treaty regulating fishing around the disputed Kuril Islands went into effect yesterday, Foreign Ministry officials in Moscow and Tokyo said. (Kyodo, Russian agencies, May 21) The treaty was signed on February 20 of this year after long and arduous negotiations between the... MORE

The crisis in Dagestan (see the Monitor, May 21) was defused yesterday when the republic government agreed to call an extraordinary meeting of the Dagestani State Council (the republic's highest executive body) today or tomorrow to address the demands of the group of armed men... MORE

Khachilaev is a typical representative of the "new wave" of Dagestani politicians. Until recently, he was completely unknown in the religious world. His fame was of another sort entirely. Above all, he was known as a great athlete (the republic's karate champion) and as one... MORE

Djohar has categorically denied any involvement in the events in Dagestan and says they are the result of provocations by military and political groups both in Russia and within Chechnya. In the opinion of Chechen Foreign Minister Movladi Udugov, Dagestan may, as a result of... MORE

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vladimir Rakhmanin warned yesterday that Moscow "continues to be dissatisfied with Estonia's approach to the problems of the Russian-speaking population.... The main problem is the denial of citizenship [to Russians] en masse." According to Rakhmanin, Tallinn "tries to create a semblance... MORE

Moldova's three non-communist parties yesterday completed the lengthy and tense negotiations among themselves and with President Petru Lucinschi over the formation of the new cabinet of ministers. The parliament approved the new cabinet the same day, two months after the March 22 parliamentary elections. The... MORE