Russia's defense minister, Gen. Igor Sergeev, announced yesterday that four new rapid reaction units will be created next year. He described the new formations as "units of the future." That remark comes some five years after similar units were to be formed as part of... MORE

Moscow alleged this week that the U.S. and NATO are putting increasing pressure on Austria to join the Western alliance, and Russia's Foreign Ministry strongly urged Vienna to maintain its current status of neutrality. The issue of Austria's security arose in connection with talks held... MORE

Russian first deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov ended a three-day visit to Japan yesterday during which he co-chaired a meeting of a Russian-Japanese intergovernmental economic commission on June 9 and, one day later, met with Japanese prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto. Nemtsov described the June 9... MORE

Two more Russian journalists were kidnapped yesterday in Chechnya. The two men, reporter Ilyas Bogatyrev and cameraman Vladislav Chernyaev, work for the popular TV program "Vzglyad." They were seized by unidentified men in broad daylight in the center of the Chechen capital. This is far... MORE

Russian first deputy prime minister Boris Nemtsov returned to Moscow yesterday after a visit to Primorsky krai, where he met with the region's embattled governor, Yevgeny Nazdratenko. Nemtsov promised federal funds to help the region overcome the power shortages that have led to widespread electricity... MORE

GDP in the first five months of this year was 0.2 percent lower than in the same period in 1996, according to Goskomstat. Official figures recorded a 0.3 percent rise in the first three months of the year, but that apparent positive trend (which may... MORE

By a vote of 285 to 10, the Russian Duma yesterday adopted a controversial land code outlawing the sale of arable land. An earlier version of the code was rejected last year by the Federation Council because it contained a similar provision. The Duma says... MORE

The Russian Duma yesterday continued its game of cat and mouse with the government by postponing debate for the second time on the revised 1997 federal budget. The Duma avoided an outright clash with the government by rejecting Communist firebrand Viktor Ilyukhin's proposal to double... MORE

The ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet today hoisted the St. Andrew's ensign -- the traditional naval flag that dates from Czarist times -- in a ceremony witnessed by Defense Minister Igor Sergeev. During the years of bickering between Ukraine and Russia over the... MORE

On a just-completed visit to Kyiv, Iranian foreign minister Ali-Akbar Velayati discussed mainly economic issues, including industrial cooperation projects in Iran based on Ukrainian technology and Iran's participation in building a large-capacity oil terminal in Odessa. Bilateral trade was only $100 million in 1996, but... MORE