Reorganizing Russia's arms export system By Stanislav Lunev The Kremlin has recently begun to make radical structural changes in Russia's system of state organization and control in the area of arms sales. The arms trade is one of the few branches of Russian industry which... MORE

The Fortnight in Review The fortnight saw two major developments in Russia. One was a mini-government reshuffle in which Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin clipped the wings of his two reformist first deputies, Anatoly Chubais and Boris Nemtsov. Neither lost his post, but both have been... MORE

The independent press is having a rough time in Kyrgyzstan By "Sadji" The independent press is having a rough time in Kyrgyzstan. This became especially blatant last year, when official persecution of journalists writing for independent newspapers came to a head. In the summer, Zamira... MORE

Armenia's foreign policy: balancing between East and West By Emil Danielyan The liberal government that came to power in 1990 following Soviet Armenia's first free elections made it a foreign policy priority to establish "normal relations" with its neighbors, Turkey included. The Armenian Pan-National Movement... MORE

Development, Bashkir-style: Ufa's internal policy benefits the Kremlin By Igor Rotar A good meal costs only five new rubles (approximately 80 cents) in the employees-only cafeteria of the presidential administration in Ufa, capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan. In the city outside, a meal like... MORE

Ukraine's economic crisis: is there light at the end of the tunnel? By Volodymyr Zviglyanich If you look at the statistics, Ukraine's economy is practically nonexistent. Since 1990, when the life of the average Soviet citizen stood up to 15 hours a week in lines... MORE

The Fortnight in Review The year 1997 closed with a flurry of political activity in Russia as President Boris Yeltsin and his parliamentary opponents maneuvered over the state budget and sparred on the issue of land reform. Amid claims of some positive developments in the... MORE

Crimean politics are still haunted by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev's 1954 decision to transfer Crimea from the Russian Republic to Ukraine, and by the subsequent return to the peninsula of the "punished peoples" -- the Crimean Tatars, Armenians, and other ethnic groups deported by Stalin... MORE

"Russia is Our Home": How the government tried to create a ruling party, and what came of it By Aleksandr Buzgalin In most modern countries, the party that wins the election forms the government. The leaders of today's Russia have not followed this simple principle:... MORE

Changes in Russia's law enforcement agencies By Stanislav Lunev The crime wave that has hit Russia in recent years is threatening the structure of the state itself. This is the opinion of none other than President Boris Yeltsin, in his September 24, 1997, address to... MORE