Chechen field commanders have reportedly been ordered to shoot down any military aircraft that flies over the republic's territory, beginning at midnight on April 23. (NTV, April 23) It is unclear who signed such an important document in the absence of Chechnya's president and supreme... MORE

In the first capital punishment case handled by Chechnya's new Islamic courts, a man convicted of murder has been put to death by an executioner who slit his throat with a dagger. (Itar-Tass, cited by AP, April 23) The execution was screened by Chechen TV.... MORE

The failure of the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries to pay their bills is hampering the production of the Antonov An-70 turbo-prop military transport -- a plane chosen by both air forces. A Ukrainian official said that the two ministries owed more than $53 million... MORE

A session of Kazakstan's Security Council, chaired by president Nursultan Nazarbaev, has expressed concern over the deployment by Russia's border troops of Cossack paramilitary detachments on the Russian side of the common border. The deployment contravenes existing bilateral agreements, one official said. (Interfax, April 23;... MORE

A long anticipated "summit" meeting between Russian president Boris Yeltsin and Chinese leader Jiang Zemin concluded yesterday, as expected, with the issuance of a joint declaration on a "multi-polar world and the formation of a new international order." The document reiterates the commitment of Moscow... MORE

Chechen special envoy Ruslan Kutaev met with the head of the Russian government's administrative department, Sergei Stepashin, on April 22 and handed him a message from Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov for Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin. Kutaev limited himself to saying that the message "contains... MORE

According to Chechnya's special envoy, Ruslan Kutaev, the republic's leadership plans to invite the Arab countries' ambassadors in Moscow to visit Djohar-gala and to see the situation there for themselves. "Since it is impossible to [work] ...with Russia in the area of economic cooperation on... MORE

The car of Ingushetia's first deputy interior minister, Rashid Aushev, came under fire on a highway in Ingushetia's Nazran district in the early hours of April 23, and Aushev and his driver were mortally wounded. (Interfax, April 23) Rashid Aushev is the cousin of Ingush... MORE

Russia's president Yeltsin has named the members of the Russian team that will draft the final details of the charter of union between Russia and Belarus. Leading the group will be Deputy Prime Minister Valery Serov, who was one of those who drafted the original... MORE

The period designated for public debate on the Treaty of Union between Belarus and Russia ends on May 15. Commentary in the liberal Russian media has been openly skeptical about the supposed benefits for Russia from the union. When Kommersant-daily interviewed four of Russia's best-known... MORE