The new Estonian government was sworn in before Parliament and took office yesterday. The new Prime Minister, Mart Siimann, replaces Tiit Vahi, who resigned last month after almost two years in office in order to defend himself against charges of involvement in unlawful real estate... MORE

Latvian president Guntis Ulmanis yesterday called for "greater openness" in U.S.-Russian talks on NATO's enlargement and European security. Ulmanis expressed concern lest Presidents Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin seek a "compromise which would make the Baltic states the losers" at the upcoming Helsinki summit. He... MORE

Ukrainian president Leonid Kuchma told the country in a televised interview yesterday that Russian "pressures" on Ukraine are "pushing the country toward NATO." While reaffirming that Ukraine's "non-bloc status" is optimal and suitable to both NATO and Russia at this stage, Kuchma stressed that Ukraine's... MORE

The Norilsk Nickel complex, one of the world's largest producers of nickel, copper, cobalt, and platinum, and holder of an estimated 15 percent of the world's nickel reserves, is teetering on the edge of insolvency. (Rossiiskaya gazeta, March 11; Interfax, March 3) Arrears to the... MORE

The road to Helsinki remained a rocky one yesterday as Russian president Boris Yeltsin unleashed yet another barrage of criticism at the Western alliance while three days of pre-summit talks in Washington between Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov and U.S. leaders concluded with little apparent... MORE

The Russian Duma on March 14 rejected a bill that would have placed a moratorium on capital punishment pending eventual abolition of the death penalty. The bill, which was drafted by the Yabloko faction, was defeated by 176 votes to 75. Yabloko's Vladimir Lukin said... MORE

Yeltsin signed a decree yesterday containing the outlines of the structural changes planned for the new government. As promised, the number of ministries and departments is being reduced. First for the chopping block will be the Industry Ministry, which Nemtsov yesterday accused of acting purely... MORE

Russian president Boris Yeltsin yesterday sent the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention to the Federal Assembly for ratification. The treaty bans the possession, manufacture, and use of chemical weapons and will enter into force on April 29. President Clinton has been urging the U.S. Senate to... MORE

India yesterday received the first 2 multi-purpose Su-30MK jet fighters of 8 it ordered last year. Two additional planes will be airlifted to India each week through April 7. A total of 40 of the planes will be supplied to India by the year 2000.... MORE

President Boris Yeltsin yesterday brought the reformist governor of Nizhny Novgorod, Boris Nemtsov, into the new government as first deputy prime minister. Nemtsov, 37, will handle social welfare policy, reorganization of the so-called natural monopolies (gas, electricity, and railways), and center-regional relations. He will be... MORE