Prism Interview: Duma Economic Chairman Discusses Budget In an interview with Prism August 28, the conclusion ofwhich is reproduced below, Sergei Glazyev, the chairman of theDuma economic policy committee, argues that the Chernomyrdin government's1996 proposed budget is a budget of inertia which sets the wrongpriorities,... MORE

The Race for the Military Vote Heats Up by Aleksandr Zhilin Russian political parties and movements havebegun the contest for the army's vote in the upcoming parliamentaryelections. With this goal in mind, parties across the politicalspectrum are including on their election lists military generalswho are... MORE

Russian Federation: Electoral Blocs are Taking ShapeAuthoritarian Trends in Belarus, MoldovaCentral Asian Countries Discuss Pipeline Plans by Vladimir Socor THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION With the war in Chechnya settling into the increasingly routinizedand predictable patterns of a low-intensity, protracted guerrillaconflict, two political developments held center stage... MORE

The Kyrgyz, the Uighurs, and Xinjiang by David Nissman On August 20, Chinese officials in Xinjiang warned that "hostileforces" within that non-Han region were cooperating withforces from abroad to engage in "sabotage and trouble-making"throughout the region. The officials told the Chinese news agencythat they would... MORE

Sverdlovsk Governor's Election May Prove to Benefit Yeltsin After All by James Voorhees* The victory of Eduard Rossel in the gubernatorial election inthe Sverdlovsk Oblast came as a surprise to many observers inthe West, and has been interpreted as a defeat for both Yeltsinand Chernomyrdin.... MORE

Authoritarianism on the March in Belarus by Kathleen Mihalisko* In the wake of a debilitating five-day strike by drivers in theMinsk subway system, the Belarusian authorities have arrestedindependent labor activists and accused foreign organizations--includingthe American AFL-CIO--of having instigated the unrest. The work stoppage which began... MORE

Prism Interview: Glazyev Blames Government for Banking Crisis In an interview with Prism August 28, one part of whichis reproduced below, Sergei Glazyev, the chairman of the Dumaeconomic policy committee, argues that failures in the Russiangovernment's economic policies led to the current banking crisis.The remainder... MORE

New Duma Likely to Contain Record Number of Military Officers by Vladimir Socor When it convenes after the elections scheduled for this comingDecember, Russia's new Duma will be likely to contain a recordnumber of senior military officers among its members. Generalsand colonels, most of them... MORE

Banking Crisis Likely to Continue as Election Campaign Picks Up Steam In Russia, the week is likely to see the continuation and perhapsan exacerbation of the banking crisis, and the crystallizationof party groupings, platforms, and candidates' slates in the Dumaelections. The government does not seem... MORE