By A. Kolganov 1. WHERE IS THE LABOR PROTEST MOVEMENT? The Russian labor movement has of late been something of a mystery for political scientists and sociologists. The fact is that wages have more than halved in real terms during the years of market reforms,... MORE

By Ilias Bogatyrev The flow of humanity leaving Chechnya looks like mass flight. An almost constant stream of people in cars and on foot flows along the Caucasian highway linking the republic with Ingushetia. Even according to the artificially low official statistics from the Federal... MORE

By Igor Rotar The Russian authorities claim that the ideological inspiration and the main source of funding behind the paramilitaries in Chechnya is the well-known Saudi terrorist Osama Bin Laden. Kyrgyz President Askar Akaev believes that the incursion into his country's territory by armed brigades... MORE

By Nabi Abdullaev The criminal saga of the Khachilaev brothers, the Dagestan political family, continues: On October 7 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced the arrest of Nadir Khachilaev, a deputy in the Russian State Duma and the leader of the Russian Union of Moslems.... MORE

By Volodymyr Zviglyanich The incumbent president of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma--who believes that Ukraine's survival as an independent state is inextricably linked to his own re-election for a second term--came to power in 1994 under the banner of market development, private enterprise and a reduction in... MORE

Putin finds himself in Stepashin's shoes

By Aleksandr Buzgalin It is no coincidence that this year has seen such intense activity in the formation of gubernatorial blocs prior to the Duma elections scheduled for December 1999. There are many reasons for this, but two are particularly important. 1. SPRINGTIME FOR THE... MORE

By Elena Dikun At an extraordinary session of the Federation Council on September 17, senators proposed that the president resign. Sixty-one people voted for the motion, 104 voted against. However, those who instigated the vote are not planning to give up, and intend to raise... MORE

By Brian Whitmore Russia's super-presidential system was designed back in 1993. And while it may now seem incredibly short-sighted, it seems there is a design flaw--a bug, if you will. The entire system could crash in 2000 when Yeltsin goes. Call it Russia's political Y2K... MORE

By Vladimir Mironov By the middle of September, most of the regrouping on the Russian political stage was a done deal, and the main centers of consolidation of political forces preparing to participate in the election campaign for parliament were established. The main participants are... MORE