Vladimir Kartashkin, chairman of Russia's Presidential Commission on Human Rights, has called on the Russian parliament to ratify the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Until that happens, he points out, Russian citizens will not be able to appeal to the European Court... MORE

It appears that Indonesia could postpone, if not cancel outright, its planned purchase of 12 Russian-built Sukhoi Su-30 jet fighter-bombers, 8 Mil Mi-17 helicopters, and some other military equipment. When the purchase was announced last September, it was described as a semi-barter deal in which... MORE

A car bomb was discovered yesterday outside the government building in Makhachkala, capital of the North Caucasus Republic of Dagestan. An operation to defuse the bomb is underway. (NTV, RTR, January 12) Coming as it does on the heels of a raid last month --... MORE

Russian prosecutor general Yury Skuratov told a press conference yesterday that the Russian authorities have no intention of dropping charges against Chechnya's acting prime minister, Shamil Basaev, who is still wanted in Russia for his role in the June, 1995, hostage-taking raid on Budennovsk in... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin will hold his first official meeting of the New Year when he meets First Deputy Premier Boris Nemtsov today at his holiday retreat in the Valdai region. Yeltsin press secretary Sergei Yastrzhembsky has promised that television footage of the meeting will... MORE

Chechnya's acting prime minister, Shamil Basaev, has obtained preliminary approval from President Aslan Maskhadov for a list of candidates to fill key posts in the new government he is forming. In accordance with Chechnya's constitution, Maskhadov will give his final approval only after the candidates... MORE

Recent decisions by the Moody's and IBCA rating agencies granting Turkmenistan an international credit rating, combined with the extension in December of $80 million in funding by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, suggest that one of the least reformed and poorest CIS economies... MORE

The director-general of the Rossiya Hotel on Moscow's Red Square was found shot dead on January 9 outside his apartment. His predecessor met a violent death two years ago, and police said the murder was probably a contract killing. (RTR, January 9) Yeltsin's Visit to... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin's spokesman said last week that the president's January visit to Chechnya has been postponed and that no new date has yet been set. (Itar-Tass, January 8) Instead, the president is being urged by Deputy Prime Minister Ramazan Abdulatipov to hold a meeting... MORE

Lithuania's Central Electoral Commission issued on January 9 the final returns of the presidential runoff held on January 4. Lithuanian-American conservative Valdas Adamkus received 50.37 percent of the vote, narrowly edging out his left-of-center opponent, Arturas Paulauskas, who received 49.63 percent. The numerical difference between... MORE