"Russia has changed its approach to Ukraine," President Leonid Kuchma told a December 12 conference with Cherkassk Oblast officials. "They used to want us as their vassal; now they want us as an economic and political partner." The preceding day, the president announced the "end... MORE

The "Strategic Group on Russian-Ukrainian Cooperation" held its inaugural meeting on December 11-12 in Kyiv. On the Russian side, the group includes, among others, the presidential foreign policy coordinator Sergei Yastrzhembsky, presidential foreign affairs adviser Sergei Prikhodko, Deputy Prime Minister Valery Serov, First Deputy Foreign... MORE

Military aviation has featured prominently in Russian news reports over the past few weeks, with journalists finding little positive to report. The tragic crash of a Military Transport Aviation (MTA) An-124 Ruslan in Irkutsk on December 6 was the most dramatic incident. It prompted Air... MORE

Russian first deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov held talks in Venezuela on December 11-12, his final stop on a three-nation tour of the region that also included visits to Chile and Mexico. Nemtsov said upon his arrival in Caracas that his discussions with Venezuelan leaders... MORE

The British Foreign Office says it can not confirm the assertion by a top Chechen law enforcement officer that two British aid workers kidnapped in Chechnya during the summer are "alive and well." Magomed Magomadov, head of Chechnya's special antiterrorist investigation team, announced last week... MORE

The bad boy of Kremlin politics, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, made waves again over the weekend when he called for the introduction of authoritarian rule in Russia for "two to three years." Zhirinovsky said that a strong hand was essential to get Russia's economy under control and... MORE

Chechnya's Supreme Shariah Court has banned the celebration of New Year in the republic, arguing that it is not an Islamic festival. The court declared it an offense for Chechen citizens to decorate public places or private homes with trees or lights in honor of... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin yesterday made his first appearance since being advised by his doctors five days ago to retire to a sanitarium with an "acute viral infection." Yeltsin was shown on Russian Television voting in the elections for the Moscow City Duma. Yeltsin, who... MORE

Last week's news that the IMF mission to Moscow is to recommend that the Fund should release the latest quarterly tranche of its $10.2 billion loan to Russia was greeted with relief by the Russian government, but met with considerably more skepticism from financial journalist... MORE

Armenian prime minister Robert Kocharian took his differences with President Levon Ter-Petrosian beyond the water's edge during a five-day official visit to France (which concludes today). Kocharian repeatedly expressed disagreement with Ter-Petrosian's renunciation of the goal of de facto complete independence for Karabakh and his... MORE