Aleksandr Pochinok, president of Russia's State Tax Service (GNS), announced on January 9 that the Service is creating a special internal division to monitor the compliance of Russia's largest corporate taxpayers. In addition, state representatives serving in the management of these firms are to place... MORE

Nemtsov told Yeltsin yesterday that the government commission charged with identifying the remains of the imperial family will complete its task on January 27, and that there is now no doubt at all that the remains discovered in 1979 are those of Russia's last czar,... MORE

The Chechen authorities say there was a raid this morning by 100 armed men on the headquarters of the anti-kidnapping police in Grozny. The attack was repelled and some of the attackers were detained, but several people were injured. The purpose of the raid was... MORE

The Kremlin sought yesterday to dispel doubts about President Boris Yeltsin's health by releasing film of him speeding through the forest in his snowmobile and meeting First Deputy Premier Boris Nemtsov at his holiday retreat. (Reuter, January 13) Nemtsov was invited, along with Yeltsin's daughter... MORE

Azerbaijan, in late December, took another step toward integration into the international economy when it received a loan package of $64 million from the IMF in support of its economic reform efforts. The package caps a good year for the Azerbaijani economy, which saw, among... MORE

At an indoor rally in Chisinau on January 10, Moldova's former president, Mircea Snegur, and Popular Front leader Iurie Rosca launched the electoral campaign of the Democratic Convention, which they co-chair. Comprised of Snegur's Party of Rebirth and Conciliation, the Popular Front, and three smaller... MORE

Belarus state television on January 11 presented an alleged "business plan" by Belarusan opposition groups to organize a coup d'etat against President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and to seize power within one year with Western financial support. Describing some of the planned actions as "terrorist," the TV... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin has canceled Russian value-added taxes on Ukrainian imports, effective February 1, Kremlin foreign policy coordinator Sergei Yastrzhembsky announced yesterday. Yastrzhembsky did not specify when Yeltsin signed the document, which rescinds the Russian president's August 1996 decree on imposing VAT on Ukrainian goods... MORE

In a nationally televised statement, President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan disclosed that Russian president Boris Yeltsin had recently sent a questionnaire to all the heads of CIS member countries regarding their views on the development of the CIS. The questionnaire and the answers to it... MORE

John Cairncross, the Fifth Man in the Cambridge spy ring that included Kim Philby, gave the Soviet Union the atomic secrets that made a significant contribution to Moscow's atomic research. This is one of the findings in a new book, The Crown Jewels, by British... MORE