A new party has been set up in Russia's Far Eastern Primorsky krai to oppose the transfer of any of the krai's territory to China. Under an agreement signed in May 1991, the Soviet Union regulated almost all its existing border disputes with China. The... MORE

Kuchma also noted in his state of the nation address that Ukraine's relations with Russia are experiencing "difficulties" and "significant obstacles." Kuchma traced those problems to "influential forces [in Russia] which do not desire to build equal and mutually advantageous relations with Ukraine and other... MORE

More than 10,000 people demonstrated in Minsk yesterday on Independence Day, the anniversary of the 1918 proclamation of the short-lived Belarusan People's Republic independent of Russia. The legitimate parliament's chairman, Syamyon Sharetsky, spoke in support of the "democratic and sovereign path of development." The demonstration's... MORE

Tokyo has reportedly reacted with caution to a Russian-U.S. agreement -- stipulating a larger G-7 role for Russia -- concluded during the summit talks in Helsinki on March 21. (See Perspective item below) A Japanese Foreign Ministry source said that Tokyo does not "see any... MORE

Negotiations on an arms deal by which Russia would modernize Syria's armed forces have foundered on disagreements over "method of payment and date of delivery," Russian diplomatic sources indicated on March 21. The two sides reportedly failed also to resolve the issue of Syria's $10... MORE

The deputy head of Kyrgyzstan's state company Chuigazmunaizat, Yusup Kalbaev, was gunned down on March 21 outside his Bishkek home. On the previous day Kalbaev had been appointed head of Lukoil-Kyrgyzstan, the local affiliate of the Russian giant. (Interfax, March 21) Helsinki Summit: An Unanticipated... MORE

Russian Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov called it a "crushing defeat" for Moscow and -- referring to the humiliating conditions imposed upon Germany by the treaty ending World War I -- a "Russian Versailles." U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright, conversely, enthused that "President Clinton made... MORE

Yeltsin and Clinton did their part to invigorate the arms control process, but the implementation of their initiatives is now up to their sometimes less than cooperative legislatures. Ratification of the 1993 START II Treaty by the Russian Duma remains the largest stumbling block to... MORE

The Russian media are predicting that additional cabinet changes will be announced this week. Yevgeny Yasin, former economy minister, is expected to be named minister for strategic development of the economy, a new post that will involve analyzing economic trends and setting long-term strategy. Yasin's... MORE

Interviewed on Russian TV over the weekend, Boris Nemtsov reiterated his determination to abolish the idea of "authorized banks." These are banks to which the handling of federal budget accounts is specially assigned, and which as a result have opportunities to make profitable use of... MORE