As President George W. Bush reshuffles his cabinet, Moscow political elites are discussing what kind of changes in policy, personnel, and cooperation can be expected during his second term. The nomination of Condoleezza Rice as U.S. Secretary of State has been interpreted by the bulk... MORE

Yukos was hit by a series of new blows on November 18. The embattled oil company's chief lawyer, Dmitry Gololobov, told reporters in London, where he was on a business trip, that he had been placed on Russian and international wanted lists at the request... MORE

On October 29, the Russian State Duma voted to adopt in its first reading President Vladimir Putin's proposal to eliminate the direct election of regional executive-branch leaders. Despite the fact that officials have received 70 positive comments on the proposal from local legislatures and 58... MORE

In a televised interview on an NTV Sunday morning talk show, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that the Russian government would be prepared to fulfill its obligation under the 1956 Joint Soviet-Japanese Declaration. This declaration, ratified by the USSR Supreme Soviet, called for a... MORE

On December 3-4 Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold a summit with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has already gone to India to lay the groundwork for this summit (Itar-Tass, October 9). Putin's agenda in India comprises security and economics. Although... MORE

On November 9 and 16, the OSCE's Joint Consultative Group (JCG), meeting in Vienna, witnessed Russia's overt repudiation of its obligation to withdraw its troops from Georgia and Moldova. The 30-country JCG deals with issues related to the 1990 Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe... MORE

Colonel-General Yuri Baluyevsky, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian armed forces, met with senior NATO personnel on November 15, taking part in working meetings aimed at resolving issues relating to interoperability between Russian and NATO forces. At SHAPE HQ Mons, Belgium, he met... MORE

On November 11, the Kremlins press service announced that the Russia-EU summit, originally scheduled for that day but abruptly postponed at Moscow's request, would now take place on November 25 in The Hague. Officially, Moscow blamed the decision on the EU's failure to install a... MORE

President Vladimir Putin's increasingly outspoken economic adviser, Andrei Illarionov, has called the legal onslaught against Yukos politically motivated and said it should stop. Speaking at a Moscow press conference organized by the RIA Novosti new agency, Illarionov said the "most reasonable thing" would be to... MORE

The simmering crisis in the Karachaevo-Cherkessia region of the North Caucasus has turned violent. Relatives of the seven disappeared shareholders in the local Kavkaztsement factory, tired of waiting for their loved ones' murderers to be punished, have seized the government headquarters in the republic capital.... MORE