MOSCOW — The parallels with Russia in 1993 were uncanny. As the economy crashed, the president demanded a speeding-up of free-market reforms as the only solution. And if these reforms were to be implemented, an essential
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MOSCOW — Alexander Lukashenko was elected president of Belarus — a republic of 10 million people on Russia's western border — by a big majority last July. He ran as an independent waging a classic "anti-politician"
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MOSCOW — Yes, there are to be parliamentary elections in Russia in December. After repeated indications that the authorities wanted the polls put off indefinitely, or run in conjunction with the presidential election due for
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MOSCOW — News of a vast gas leak and explosion on April 27 in the Komi Republic, 1500 kilometres north-east of the Russian capital, has again focused attention on the catastrophic state of Russia's oil and gas pipeline
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MOSCOW — First, in 1992, there was shock and disorientation as the beginning of "reform" threw at least a third of the Russian population into poverty. Then, in 1993 and 1994, even while output in the economy continued to
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MOSCOW — At least half a million workers took to the streets of Russian cities on April 12, in some of the largest coordinated labour demonstrations in the country's history. Further millions took part in workplace protest
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MOSCOW — In Russia, April 1 — the "Day of Laughter" — often comes as a shock to people used to its tame counterpart in the English-speaking world. On this particular day, journalists are allowed to subvert their own
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MOSCOW — Millions of workers throughout Russia are expected to join in job-site protests and street demonstrations on April 12, as the country's main labour federation mounts a day of action "against the worsening of the
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MOSCOW — Ask a citizen of the former Soviet Union what he or she thinks of "the market", and in well over half the cases, the answer is likely to be something unprintable. Go on to ask what ordinary people can now do to
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MOSCOW — March 11 marked three months since federal Russian forces pushed into the rebellious republic of Chechnya in the north Caucasus region. At the time, Russian defence minister General Pavel Grachev boasted that a
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MOSCOW — You've got a mountain of highly toxic industrial waste, which can't be reprocessed at a profit. It can be kept from contaminating the environment only if you're prepared to foot a heavy bill. What do you do?
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MOSCOW — Coal miners in Russia are moving toward an all-out confrontation with the government following a massive one-day warning strike on February 8. The first all-Russian stoppage to be organised jointly by the