New Yorkers were shocked recently when they learned that the blind Mexicans begging on the subway were being kept in conditions of slavery and forced to hand over all their earnings to criminal gangs. A similar case of slavery has been revealed in Moscow, where... MORE

Calls by U.S. ambassador William Green Miller and visiting Senator Mitch McConnell for greater progress in free market reforms during a meeting with Ukrainian prime minister Valery Pustovoytenko on August 15 occurred, ironically, against the backdrop of an anti-dumping investigation of Ukrainian metallurgical firms being... MORE

Belarus border guards on August 15 arrested a four-man crew of Russia's state-controlled ORT television network for allegedly attempting to cross the Belarus-Lithuania border illegally. The group, including three Russian citizens and one Belarusan, is now being held by the Internal Affairs Ministry of Belarus... MORE

Georgian president Eduard Shevardnadze and Abkhaz leader Vladislav Ardzinba held a surprise meeting in Tbilisi on August 14 and 15 under the mediation of Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov. Russia's foreign minister had during the preceding days received Ardzinba in Sochi and flown with him... MORE

Russia is identified in a new survey as the world's fourth most corrupt country. Nigeria, Bolivia, and Colombia were first, second, and third, respectively. Last year's survey put Russia in eighth place. (Financial Times, August 1) Russian Minister in Thailand.

Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov, accompanied by a 20-strong delegation, arrived in Thailand yesterday, where the Russian side will look to boost bilateral trade and political relations. Primakov described Thailand as a potential market for Russian space technology, and said he hopes more generally to... MORE

Russia's chief Foreign Ministry spokesman yesterday expressed regret over what he said was an "anti-Russian campaign" being waged up by the Japanese media in its coverage of a Russian spy case. Gennady Tarasov intimated that broader bilateral relations, which have recently taken an upturn, could... MORE

Tarasov also warned yesterday against tasking international peacekeeping forces in Bosnia with the arrest of wanted Bosnian war criminals. Tarasov said that Russian troops would not participate in such actions, which, he charged, could exacerbate tensions in the region. (Russian agencies, July 31) New Commander... MORE

Lt. Gen. Victor Kazantsev has been appointed commander of the North Caucasus Military District. The post became vacant when Col. Gen. Anatoly Kvashnin was named to head the General Staff. Kazantsev had been Kvashnin's first deputy. (RIA Novosti, July 31) Tanked in the Urals.

When he and a comrade ran out of vodka during a drinking spree earlier this week, a sergeant in a Russian division located in the Urals Military District stole a T-72 tank and headed out to a nearby village to buy another bottle. He was... MORE