Russia's new privatization chief, Maksim Boiko, last week unveiled the government's privatization program for next year, saying it will bring urgently needed funds into the exchequer and make the privatization process more open and honest. The privatization of large state enterprises in Russia has been... MORE

One person was killed and 11 were wounded, four of them policemen, in a fight between police and a group of armed Chechens in the Dagestani city of Khasavyurt on August 30. Khasavyurt, which borders Chechnya, has a large population of Chechen-Akins (one of the... MORE

Russian and Chechen officials met in Djohar-gala on August 28-29 to discuss oil transit through Chechen territory. To the existing four agreements (on transportation of oil, restoration of the Chechen sector of the pipeline, filling it with oil, and security) a fifth and important one... MORE

Kirienko has threatened that Russia may build a pipeline through Dagestan, skirting Chechen territory, if Moscow does not each an agreement with Djohar-gala. (Russian agencies, September 1) In the past, Moscow has denied having any such intentions. However, the newspaper Segodnya reports that Russia is... MORE

Gen. Andrei Nikolaev, head of Russia's Federal Border Service (FBS), yesterday described some of the changes underway in his organization. While the total strength of the Border Service will hold at some 215,000 over the next decade, the military component -- which now comprises 75... MORE

Less than two weeks after placing $450 million worth of 12-month eurobonds on the Luxembourg securities market, the Ukrainian government on August 25 learned that the IMF's Board of Directors had officially approved the granting of a $542 million standby credit. Although the standby credit... MORE

On August 29, Presidents Boris Yeltsin of Russia and Levon Ter-Petrosian of Armenia signed in Moscow a Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance. The treaty envisages consultations and mutual military support if either side is attacked or considers itself threatened by a third party.... MORE

The head of the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate), Aleksy II, says that "North American standards" of religious freedom are not applicable to Russia. (Itar-Tass, Reuter, August 27) Referring to the law on freedom of conscience approved by the Russian parliament but vetoed by President... MORE

The U.S. indicated yesterday that it would press Moscow for an explanation of a "seismic event" detected 12 days ago in the vicinity of Russia's nuclear test site at Novaya Zemlya. Administration officials reportedly do not know exactly what caused the "event," but they believe... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin yesterday sacked Minister of Culture Yevgeny Sidorov and replaced him with Natalya Dementeva. No immediate reason for Sidorov's dismissal was provided. Yeltsin also named career diplomat Anatoly Adamishin, until recently Russian ambassador to Great Britain, as minister for cooperation with the CIS... MORE