Yeltsin Fights for Survival By Gleb Cherkassov Presidential elections in Russia differ from those in other countries. It is only in Russia that the incumbent president can establish his campaign headquarters on the basis of government structures and appoint the senior deputy prime minister chief... MORE

Tajikistan: Central Asian Powderkeg Tajikistan: Inter-Clan Fighting Again Threatens to Split the Republic By Igor Rotar More than three years have passed since the open civil war in Tajikistan ended. But there is no peace and tranquillity here yet. The threat of a final breakup... MORE

An Economy Under Pressure The Kremlin Explains Russia's Economic Problems by Aleksandr Zhilin Recently, the Presidential Analytical Department has devoted increasing attention to studying the economic situation in the country. Experts believe this is connected with the approaching presidential elections and the attempts of Boris... MORE

Chechnya: Seeds of the Debacle By Maria Eismont In a recent campaign speech, President Yeltsin admitted that the introduction of Russian troops into Chechnya had been one of his mistakes. But on November 28, 1994, when the Russian Security Council resolved to use force against... MORE

The Fortnight in Review In Russia, incumbent President Boris Yeltsin and Communist party hopeful Gennady Zyuganov chose the same day--February 15--to announce their intentions to run for election. The presidential election, due in June, dominated events over the past two weeks not only within Russia... MORE

A New Wave of Mafia-Linked Terrorism? Moscow: New Capital of International Terrorism and Criminality? by Aleksandr Zhilin Over the last few years, terrorism has become an integral part of world politics and a significant factor in the internal political life of a number of countries.... MORE

Can NATO and Russia Police Bosnia? By Aleksandr Konovalov Summing up the results of 1995, Nezavisimaya gazeta named (among five major accomplishments in the area of foreign policy) the cessation of military actions in Bosnia and Russia's decision to send her military contingent to take... MORE

Thievery and the Russian Military Budget by Stanislav Lunev On December 6 of last year, in one of its last sessions, the outgoing membership of the Russian parliament's lower house, the State Duma, approved the Russian government's defense budget request for a little over 80... MORE

The Challenges to Georgian Sovereignty Georgia's Ethnic Conflicts by Rossen Vassilev After the breakup of the USSR in December 1991, ethnic strife increased sharply in nearly all former Soviet republics. Resurgent micronationalism was fueled by the chaos, tensions and uncertainties surrounding the collapse of communism.... MORE

Communist Grip Tightens in the Duma By Andrei Zhukov The forecasts made by analysts that the parliamentary elections would not dramatically alter the balance of political forces have not been borne out. The first meetings of the new Duma have demonstrated that the left-wingers (comprised... MORE