"POST-COLONIAL STRESS" IN RUSSIAN POLICY.

An analysis published in the current issue of the Moscow weekly Itogi finds that Russia’s policy toward the Baltic states is "best characterized by the term ‘post-colonial stress.’" The term has been used by Estonian foreign minister Toomas Ilves and connotes an inability to adjust to the idea of Baltic independence. The analysis credits Russian foreign minister Yevgeny Primakov with an effort to save what can still be saved from Soviet geopolitical positions — "above all in the Baltic states" — and to block their accession to NATO. To achieve the latter goal, Moscow does not need a veto right but can simply refuse to sign border agreements with the Baltic states and pose "impossible demands" regarding their "Russian-speaking populations," the analysis concludes. (BNS, April 22)

Ukraine Sees Weak Moldovan Stand in Transdniester Talks.