Ingush leaders bowed last week to the decision of Russia's Supreme Court. They have called off a planned referendum that would have asked residents of the North Caucasus republic whether the police, courts and prosecutors should be subordinated to the republic president, rather than simultaneously... MORE

Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek, as current chairman-in-office of the OSCE, opened the organization's Consultative and Monitoring Group in Minsk on February 27. The mission is mandated to assist the country's democratization in accordance with OSCE principles, working with the authorities, the opposition, and nongovernmental... MORE

After a session lasting three hours, the Russian government decided February 27 to bury the remains of Russia's last tsar, Nikolai II, and his family in the Romanov family vault in the Peter and Paul Fortress in St. Petersburg. The ceremony will take place on... MORE

Meeting with the republic's Islamic clergy, Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov sought the support of the clergy in his fight against rogue field commanders. Saying there should be no armed units in Chechnya other than the state agencies formed on the basis of the Constitution, Maskhadov... MORE

Russian Communist party leader Gennady Zyuganov has deplored the cabinet changes President Boris Yeltsin made over the weekend, saying the president "got the wrong men." (Itar-Tass, February 28) Zyuganov said Yeltsin should have sacked the "young reformers," first deputy premiers Anatoly Chubais and Boris Nemtsov.... MORE

In a move that was not unexpected, Russia lined up with France and China over the weekend in opposition to a draft UN resolution that threatens Iraq with "very severe consequences" should it violate the agreement brokered last week by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.... MORE

In a long television interview broadcast on February 27, Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov credited President Boris Yeltsin with spearheading the international diplomatic effort that ultimately led to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's February 23 agreement with Iraqi leaders. Primakov described an active Yeltsin who,... MORE

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbaev reshuffled several top economic positions in the cabinet of ministers on February 20. Uraz Jandosov, who until now had chaired the National Bank of Kazakhstan (NBK), becomes first deputy prime minister and chairman of Kazakhstan's Investment Committee. Kadyrjan Damitov, formerly deputy... MORE

A backlash ensued from diverse parts of the political spectrum. The right-of-center, Western-oriented Party of Reforms and Order described Kuchma's visit to Moscow and the proposals under discussion as "the most serious threat to Ukrainian sovereignty since 1991." The head of the party's Economic Council,... MORE

Leonid Kuchma began yesterday the first state visit to Russia by a Ukrainian president after more than six years of Ukrainian independence. Both sides regard the visit as crucial help to Kuchma and his camp in the upcoming Ukrainian elections. On the eve of the... MORE