The liberal Russian press has strongly criticized the proposed union between Russia and Belarus. Most of the criticism has targeted not the concept of union itself but the way in which it is proposed to carry it out. A common complaint has been that the... MORE

Last week the Japanese government announced that it was preparing to invest $500 million in the Russian economy. The lead project is to be a $65 million loan for a car assembly line at the Izhmash plant in Izhevsk, Udmurtiya, the plant which first produced... MORE

On April 5 an EU delegation in Moscow reached agreement with Russia over the gradual lifting of quotas on Russia's steel exports to the EU. (Reuter, April 8) Under the accord, EU quotas on Russian steel will be raised by 10 percent in 1997, by... MORE

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Valery Nesterushkin yesterday said the U.S. could not unilaterally declare that its theater missile defense programs are in compliance with the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. At their Helsinki summit last month Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton had seemingly broken an impasse... MORE

Meeting with Belarusan Catholic bishops in the Vatican on April 8, Pope John Paul II. expressed concern over the growing impoverishment of the Belarusan populace and the consequent potential for Soviet nostalgia. Noting the "spring-time revival" of the Catholic church in former Soviet countries, the... MORE

Addressing the parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko predicted that his government may have to resign and that the country would forfeit indispensable Western loans unless the legislature adopts long-overdue tax reform and a balanced budget for 1997. Blaming the legislature for endless procrastination and... MORE

The influential British military publishing house Jane's warned last week that Russia has developed a new and dangerous variant of anthrax toxin as well as three new nerve agents. In the forward to its annual publication on land-based air defense, Jane's said that the toxin... MORE

President Aleksandr Lukashenko on April 3 named Lt. Gen. Mikhail Kazlov first deputy minister of defense and armed forces chief of staff. He had been commander of the 65th Army Corps. (Belapan, April 3) Yeltsin Criticizes Human Rights in Belarus, Sacks Aide.

Three days after signing a Treaty of Union with neighboring Belarus, Russian President Boris Yeltsin on April 5 made a nationwide radio address in which he criticized Belarus' human rights record and said union between the two countries is not a foregone conclusion. Yeltsin assured... MORE

In what is being interpreted as a victory for the reform wing of the Russian government, Vitaly Artyukhov was reported over the weekend to have resigned as head of the State Tax Service. (Itar-Tass, April 5) Also reported to have offered his resignation is Energy... MORE