In an article entitled "The Carpet Bombing of Georgia," which appeared in the September 24 issue of Nezavisimaya Gazeta, journalist Andrei Savitsky wrote that the Russian military were drawing up elaborate plans for attacks on Georgia that would "cut off the penetration of the rebels... MORE

In a lengthy interview appearing in the September 24 issue of Novye Izvestia, former speaker of the Russian State Duma and secretary of the Russian Security Council Ivan Rybkin warned against a Russian military intervention in the Pankisi Gorge: "Imagine," he said, "Russian paratroopers will... MORE

On September 24, Vladimir Elagin, Minister of the Russian Federation for the Affairs of Chechnya, underlined with some heat that neither Ivan Rybkin nor Maskhadov's representative Akhmed Zakaev "has any real power to conduct negotiations on the Chechen problem." "This is pure politics," Elagin stated... MORE

On September 27, the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM) reported the results of a new nationwide poll taken during the period September 20-23. Asked the question "Do you consider that it is necessary to continue the military operation in Chechnya or... MORE

In an article entitled "Akhmad Kadyrov Has Been charged with Destroying Terrorism in Its Lair," the September 26 issue of Kommersant reported that, on the previous day, at the offices of the Russian presidential administration in Moscow, a closed session had been held by officials... MORE

On September 24, a so-called ordinary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), meeting in Strasbourg, heard a presentation by Lord Judd of Britain on behalf of that organization's Political Affairs Committee on the conflict in Chechnya. During his remarks, Judd... MORE

On September 20, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov met in the White House in Washington with President George W. Bush. One of the issues briefly discussed during the meeting, which was heavily covered by both the Western and Russian... MORE

Also on September 20, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell replied to a question asked by a reporter: "Mr. Secretary, [your] Russian guests provided you with proof of a connection between the Georgian leadership and terrorists. Do they look convincing to you?" by responding, "They... MORE

On September 19, the speaker of the Georgian parliament, Nino Burdzhanadze, reacted sharply to recent statements by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and General Anatoly Kvashnin, chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces, concerning the foreign and domestic policies of Georgia. "Kvashnin... MORE