Kommersant-daily reports that a Russian government commission has finally settled on March 1 next year for the burial of the remains of Russia's last czar, Nicholas II, and his family. However, a decision has still not been made as to the burial site. (AP, October... MORE

Russia's Communist Party marked the 80th anniversary of the October Revolution in St. Petersburg on October 25 according to the old-style calendar observed by Russia in 1917. Party leader Gennady Zyuganov declared that Russia is again "on the verge of a revolutionary situation." The American... MORE

While the summit of the CIS heads of state currently meeting in Chisinau may have attracted the big headlines, an IMF mission now in Kyiv may have greater significance for Ukraine's medium-term economic prospects. The visit by the IMF delegation, which began its discussions with... MORE

Saratov oblast is on track to become the first Russian region to legalize the free sale of agricultural land. The Monitor's correspondent in the Volga region reports that a regional law on land, which states that owners have the right to "sell land, present it... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin's decision to recall the new draft tax code was the most important concession won by the Duma in its recent confrontation with the government. (Yeltsin could, for example, have merely had the draft sent to a conciliation commission, in which case the... MORE

Retired gen. Lev Rokhlin has denied news reports that he called on his supporters at a rally in Solnechnogorsk, near Moscow, to "oust the hated regime" [of President Boris Yeltsin]. (NTV, ORT, October 23) Russia's procurator general has ordered an inquiry to discover whether Rokhlin... MORE

Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov has asked the republic's parliament to grant him special powers for a two-year period. Maskhadov says it is necessary for him to have the right to suspend laws passed by parliament, to make changes in the composition of the cabinet, and... MORE

Declaring his primary interest to be in the functioning of the CIS Customs Union, Kyrgyz president Askar Akaev expressed "full satisfaction with the results of the Customs Union's [October 22] Moscow summit," which held out the prospect of broadening the access of Kyrgyz exports to... MORE

Gen. Viktor Prudnikov was named to head the CIS military cooperation staff. He had been the head of the Russian Air Defense Troops, which are to be merged with the Air Force. He replaces Gen. Viktor Samsonov, who had returned to the CIS post after... MORE

Convalescing after heart surgery, President Saparmurad Niazov sent a delegation to represent him at the CIS summit with instructions that Foreign Minister Boris Shikhmuradov summarized on arrival: "Turkmenistan will not sign any document." In the event, that was the unplanned outcome of the Council of... MORE