Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma has denied news reports that he is about to sign a decree allowing Crimean Tatars resident in Crimea but not yet Ukrainian citizens to vote in next Sunday's general election. (Ukrainian agencies, March 26) Kuchma told journalists yesterday that he has... MORE

Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze has asked law-enforcement agencies to review the cases of approximately 150 "Zviadists" -- supporters of the late president Zviad Gamsakhurdia -- who are wanted on charges of armed rebellion. Shevardnadze suggested that the arrest warrants issued earlier against them may be... MORE

A solemn joint session yesterday of the two chambers of the Romanian parliament marked the 80th anniversary of Romania's incorporation of Bessarabia, the region roughly coinciding with the present-day Republic of Moldova. Representatives of all parties from the socialist-nationalist left to the Western-oriented right described... MORE

Official Moscow implied yesterday that German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and French President Jacques Chirac agreed with Russia's policy toward the Baltic states during yesterday's tripartite summit near Moscow with Russian President Boris Yeltsin (see Russia section above). The Kremlin's foreign policy coordinator and presidential spokesman... MORE

Cuban Foreign Minister Robaina Gonzalez yesterday completed a relatively low-profile visit to Moscow that began on March 23 and was devoted primarily to boosting economic ties between the two countries. During his stay, Gonzalez met with the chairmen of Russia's two houses of parliament and... MORE

Dagestan's parliament, the Popular Assembly, has taken the unprecedented step of amending Article 93 of the republic's Fundamental Law. The law has until now stipulated that the chairmanship of Dagestan's State Council -- its highest executive body -- may not be held by a representative... MORE

Noisy protests have also been heard in Saratov Oblast, where go-getting Governor Dmitri Ayatskov is pushing ahead with plans to legalize prostitution in his region. Communists and nationalists have picketed the headquarters of the regional government to express their disgust at the move. Ayatskov is... MORE

Russian President Boris Yeltsin has formally nominated Sergei Kirienko, 35, as his choice for prime minister -- and called on the Duma to endorse that choice. Yeltsin appointed Kirienko acting head of the government on March 23, when he dismissed the government as a whole,... MORE

Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russia's normally bland outgoing prime minister, has become noticeably more abrasive since losing office. Yesterday, he distanced himself publicly from Yeltsin for the first time, saying that the "Russia is Our Home" (ROH) movement he leads will go into opposition if it does... MORE

Yeltsin was expansive in describing to reporters the significance of yesterday's meeting. He declared that the tripartite summit reflected a vision of a new Europe, united with Russia, that would be a "dominant force" in the world. He also called the grouping an "exclusive trio,"... MORE