The International Monetary Fund's decision to release US$4.5 billion to Russia, held up since the August 1998 financial collapse, was the fortnight's biggest non-surprise. Observers had long speculated that the fund, under criticism for not anticipating or even playing a role in the financial meltdowns... MORE

Boris Yeltsin has gone on his annual summer vacation. But the head of state's time-out has done little to calm the increasingly turbulent waters of Russian politics as the start of election season approaches. Indeed, although the campaign season officially gets underway in the autumn,... MORE

By Jen Tracy With surveillance tactics reminiscent of KGB days, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) is trying to gain control over the Russian Internet--a control which would allow it access to every e-mail transmission in the country, including passwords, financial transactions and confidential company... MORE

By Anna Badkhen Aleksandr Nikitin was a nuclear reactor engineer at the Soviet Navy's Northern Fleet when the news of the Chornobyl catastrophe shook the world--and determined his future. Nikitin decided to commit to nuclear safety. Nikitin's commitment has brought him international awards and worldwide... MORE

By Elena Dikun When Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov was fired, there was a vacancy for the position of the Kremlin's public enemy number one. But the post did not remain vacant for long--it was filled once again by Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. The friendship between... MORE

By V.A. Mironov The start of summer in Russia--traditionally associated with parliamentary recess, officials' holidays and political truce--has coincided this year with certain maneuvers on its political stage. New political coalitions have begun to be formed, work has been stepped up on party-building, individual political... MORE

By Aleksandr Buzgalin Russian politics regularly takes some unbelievable turns. One might have thought that the three failed attempts by Yegor Gaidar to form a party of power to proclaim and implement right-wing liberal ideas had demonstrated that there was no place for these politicians... MORE

By Igor Rotar "Members of the Uzbek special forces and Interior Ministry not only record video footage in local so-called Wahhabite mosques and search and interrogate Kyrgyz citizens suspected of adherence to Wahhabism, but also forcibly abduct them to Uzbekistan," Prism was told by Valery... MORE

With temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius, Moscow is well into the summer doldrums, which usually means a drop-off in tensions, scandals, rumors--in other words, the stuff of Russian politics. As the city sweltered, the State Duma finally went on recess, but not before giving the... MORE

By Andrei Piontkovsky [This paper was presented at a conference--"Russia: What Went Wrong? Which Way Now?"--held by the Jamestown Foundation on June 9-10 in Washington, DC. More information about the conference is available on the Jamestown Foundation's web site (https://www.jamestown.org), which will feature all conference... MORE