Moscow's 850th anniversary festivities: Light at the end of the tunnel or feast in the midst of famine? By Vladimir Mironov On the evening of September 7, 1997, the sky of Russia's capital city was illuminated by multicolored fireworks. The three-day celebration of Moscow's 850th... MORE

The Fortnight in Review Moscow celebrated an anniversary, but the festive mood in the Russian capital seems unlikely to extend to the Duma, which reconvened after its summer break and is soon to consider a number of important bills. The Kremlin, meanwhile, launched yet another... MORE

What role does Ukraine's new Prime Minister play in President's Kuchma's game plan? By Volodymyr Zviglyanich On July 16, the Ukrainian parliament confirmed the appointment of Valery Pustovoitenko as prime minister by a vote of 226-91. He is Ukraine's eighth prime minister. Before him, the... MORE

A Belarusan scholar argues that only the country's fledgling democratic movement can save Belarus from dictatorship By Alyaksandr Potupa The intensive development of Belarus' dictatorial regime raises the question of whether internal resistance will be able to check the trend toward dictatorship. The "dictatorization" of... MORE

Changes may be on the way for the Russian security services By Stanislav Lunev Recent developments in the Russian defense establishment suggest that the Kremlin's plans for military reform may be accompanied by structural changes in the other "power ministries" too. The removal of Yury... MORE

The Fortnight in Review The summer sun has only heated up Moscow's political battles over the past month, as rival camps in the Russian government continued to launch broadsides at one another over the now infamous privatization of the Russian telecoms giant Svyazinvest. Meanwhile, the... MORE

Russia's new Baltic policy: Six years after losing its major outlets to the Baltic Sea, Russia is determined to re-establish its presence there John Varoli A recurrent theme in Russian history has been the country's quest for outlets to the sea. Throughout the centuries, the... MORE

The Ingush-Ossetian crisis: A concession by the Kremlin to either of the squabbling republics threatens to destabilize the situation in the other By Igor Rotar Tensions in the Prigorodny district of North Ossetia have flared up since the middle of July. Ingushetia's president Ruslan Aushev... MORE

Recent developments in Ukraine's fuel complex: Coping with the legacy of Soviet planning By Sergei Kolchin Ukraine has few energy resources of its own and is obliged to import much of the primary fuel it needs. In the Soviet period, Ukraine's primary fuel production was... MORE

The Fortnight in Review In a vote of confidence by the West in Ukraine's continuing political development, NATO this month concluded an historic and broad-ranging political agreement with Kyiv. The signing of the partnership agreement came as Ukraine hosted a series of military exercises with... MORE