Russian first deputy prime minister Anatoly Chubais presented the draft 1998 federal budget to the Duma's Budget Committee yesterday and told journalists afterwards that, though passage would be difficult, he expected the Duma eventually to approve the government's draft. He acknowledged that Grigory Yavlinsky's Yabloko... MORE

British prime minister Tony Blair completed a brief, one-day visit to Moscow yesterday -- his first official trip to Russia as prime minister -- that focused more on rhetoric than on substance. In remarks to reporters, Blair and Boris Yeltsin showered each other with praise.... MORE

Russia yesterday reached a deal with its western commercial creditors on rescheduling $33 billion of defaulted loans and interest inherited from the former USSR. The deal gives Russia seven years before it has to start repaying the principal and 25 years in which to pay... MORE

Belarusan president Alyaksandr Lukashenka yesterday urged delegations to an international Communist gathering, meeting in Minsk, to back the Russia-Belarus Union against Russian opponents of the Union. The delegations, representing Communist parties from most of the CIS and other former Communist countries, had attended the congress... MORE

Karabakh is prepared to discuss renouncing its demands for full independence and future unification with Armenia, according to the recently elected president of Karabakh, Arkady Gukasian, in an interview just published in Yerevan and Moscow. Given reliable and effective guarantees of its security, Karabakh can... MORE

Tajik authorities have forwarded to the Supreme Court the criminal case against alleged perpetrators of the assassination attempt on President Imomali Rahmonov, which was carried out on April 30 in Hojent, the administrative center of Leninabad region. (See Monitor, May 1-2) The accused include Abdulhafiz... MORE

A study by the German intelligence agency BND has concluded that Russia's own special services are cooperating with Russian organized crime groups -- and are backed by the government. According to a report published by Der Spiegel magazine, the study found that large parts of... MORE

Japan's Kyodo news agency, reporting out of Moscow, claimed yesterday to have obtained the results of a poll indicating that more than half of those Russians surveyed believe Russia should return at least some of the disputed Kuril Islands to Japan. The poll was said... MORE

Protesters carrying red flags and shouting anti-government slogans marched through the streets of Moscow on October 4 to mark the fourth anniversary of President Boris Yeltsin's bloody dissolution of Russia's Soviet-era parliament. (RTR, October 4) Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov told demonstrators that today's parliament... MORE

Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky also reacted negatively to Yeltsin's threat to dissolve parliament, accusing Yeltsin of trying to intimidate the Duma. Yavlinsky said Yabloko shares Yeltsin's concern that the Duma's statements on foreign policy are "not always professionally correct" and supports Yeltsin's efforts to legalize... MORE