Russian first deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov yesterday met with picketing defense workers in Moscow (see yesterday's Monitor) and promised to study the issues they have raised. He will meet with them again this afternoon. According to union official Vladimir Pilipchuk, Nemtsov apologized to the... MORE

The Foreign Ministry of Luxembourg, which currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency, has issued a statement saying that public executions are incompatible with human dignity and deploring their use in Chechnya, where four people have been publicly executed in recent weeks. (Itar-Tass, September 24)... MORE

At the conclusion of two days of talks with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin on September 23, U.S. vice president Al Gore was generally upbeat, predicting "an influx of American investments in the Russian economy in the upcoming months and years." Gore did say that he... MORE

In Moscow yesterday the U.S. and Russia signed several agreements that aim to stop Russian production of weapons-grade plutonium by the end of the year 2000. Plutonium is a man-made element that is a key component of most nuclear weapons. Russia has three reactors still... MORE

Russia recorded a massive $18.5 billion surplus in foreign trade in the first six months of 1997. However, this surplus is accompanied by some worrying trends. For the first time since 1992, Russia's foreign trade registered a decline, falling 3.9 percent compared to the same... MORE

In the wake of the September 15 meeting at which President Boris Yeltsin called for an end to the "bank wars" (see Monitor, September 16), a series of decrees have been issued strengthening the role of state institutions in revenue collection and market regulation. On... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin called for a stronger role for the state in managing the economy when he addressed the upper house of the Russian parliament, the Federation Council, on the opening day of its autumn session this morning. (Itar-Tass, September 24) He said there... MORE

Belarusan president Alyaksandr Lukashenka yesterday indicated that he will go ahead with the trial of Russia's ORT TV team, then amnesty the three men following a possible conviction. Disclaiming as usual any authority to "influence" the investigation and trial, Lukashenka nevertheless hinted at a possible... MORE

A senior official of Russia's Transneft stated yesterday in Baku that the company had that day begun repair work on the Chechen section of the Baku-Novorossiisk oil pipeline, and that it will need 22 days to complete the repairs. Acknowledging that the schedule exceeds the... MORE

Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze yesterday created by decree a national intelligence agency, removing that function from the State Security Ministry. Shevardnadze appointed Lt. Gen. Avtandil Ioseliani as chief of the intelligence agency. The agency's status and organization are to be defined by special legislation within... MORE