President Alyaksandr Lukashenka signed on October 23 a decree on "Urgent Measures to Combat Terrorism" in which definitions of terrorism include "destabilizing the public order" and "exerting pressure to affect decisions by state authorities." Such definitions can arbitrarily be applied to criminalize opposition rallies, demonstrations,... MORE

Russia's minister of atomic energy, Viktor Mikhailov, created a stir in Washington last January when he revealed that his agency had bought two American-built supercomputers despite a U.S. government ruling that such high-performance machines could not be exported to Russia. Mikhailov wanted the computers for... MORE

The opening of the Baku-Grozny-Novorossiisk pipeline is a victory for Russia, Security Council deputy secretary Boris Berezovsky told NTV last night. He described the pipeline as a stabilizing factor in relations between Russia and Chechnya and as a sign that "economic expedience has conquered political... MORE

Russian and Chechen negotiators have agreed to hold a conference with the participation of international experts on ways to resolve their dispute. The decision came after the latest round of talks between Russian Security Council secretary Ivan Rybkin and Chechen first deputy premier Movladi Udugov... MORE

The Russian cabinet is meeting today to discuss the revised version of the 1998 federal budget drawn up by the government/parliament conciliation commission. Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin has asked the Duma to debate the budget and a package of amendments to existing tax legislation before... MORE

Interviewed in the mass-circulation Bucharest daily Evenimentul Zilei, Russian ultranationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky called for partitioning the Republic of Moldova between Russia, which would receive Transdniester, and Romania, which would receive the rest. As part of the same scheme, Russia and Romania would pressure Ukraine... MORE

Belarus Helsinki Human Rights Committee chairwoman Tatsyana Protska yesterday was let off with an official warning by a district court in Belarus and was able to fly to the UN. Human Rights Commission's session in Geneva, where she is scheduled to report on the situation... MORE

Russia's main military prosecutor is examining a cassette recording of a speech delivered by Gen. Aleksandr Rokhlin on October 19. Investigators are inquiring into reports that Rokhlin called on members of his Movement in Support of the Army, many of whom are army officers, to... MORE

Kazakhstan attracted $756 million in foreign direct investment during the first half of 1997 alone, according to figures recently released at an Almaty press conference by Baurjan Kaimakov, Director of the State Investments Committee. (Russian agencies, October 22) If this pace continues, Kazakhstan would roughly... MORE

Azerbaijan's State Oil Company (SOCAR) yesterday began pumping oil through the Russian section of the Baku-Novorossiisk pipeline. An initial, experimental charge of 2,500 tons crossed the Azerbaijan-Russia border into Dagestan on its way to the Chechen section of the pipeline. The main buyer of the... MORE