On June 23 the Russian Duma was again unable to reach agreement on the government's proposed 20 percent cut in the federal budget for 1997. By postponing its decision until the fall, the Duma left the government with the freedom -- but also the responsibility... MORE

Human rights and religious organizations have reacted with alarm to the law "On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations" adopted yesterday in the third reading by the Russian Duma. The vote was 300-8 in favor. (Itar-Tass, AP, June 23) Human rights organizations such as Human... MORE

Azerbaijan's state television company has decided to discontinue its rebroadcasting of Iranian television programs for Azerbaijani viewers. Company officials charged that programs recently submitted by Iran had described the population of some areas of Azerbaijan as Persian in origin and language, promoting "regional and ethnic... MORE

According to the latest VCIOM poll, Russian first deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov would win against leading rivals in a two-way race for the presidency, should elections be held now. He would beat Gennady Zyuganov by 45 to 24 percent, Aleksandr Lebed by 38 to... MORE

Pavlo Lazarenko, who was shunted aside as prime minister of Ukraine by President Leonid Kuchma on June 19 (see Monitor, June 20), has been hospitalized and may soon undergo surgery for thrombophlebitis and varicose veins. The announcement came yesterday, four days after Kuchma had cited... MORE

United Tajik Opposition first deputy chairman Akbar Turanjozoda yesterday warned that the government is jeopardizing the planned signing of a political agreement with the opposition, scheduled to take place on June 27 in Moscow under the aegis of Russian president Boris Yeltsin. In a cable... MORE

Having finally settled a six-year-long dispute with Ukraine over dividing the former Soviet Black Sea Fleet (BSF), it looks as though Russia is going to have to repeat the process with Georgia. During the Soviet era, the fleet had a significant presence in Georgia, with... MORE

The Moldovan parliament seems set to approve a government program for privatizing the country's vinicultural sector. (Itar-Tass, June 16) But while Moldova has long been renowned for wines and cognac, efforts to improve the competitiveness of its exports in this sector face an uphill battle... MORE

Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma, acting prime minister Vasyl Durdinets, Foreign Minister Hennady Udovenko, and economic officials held meetings with a Transdniester delegation headed by Igor Smirnov in Kyiv on June 19-21. The top item on the agenda was the plan to deploy Ukrainian peacekeepers alongside... MORE

Russian Boris Yeltsin followed a recent impromptu pledge in Brussels to stop aiming Russian nuclear missiles at NATO countries by saying in Denver over the weekend that he was prepared also to take Japan off the target list. Yeltsin's press secretary, Sergei Yastrzhembsky, was quick... MORE