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Miners at opencut mines in Russia went on strike in Dec 1996, demanding their pay and the resignation of the government. The Independent Trade Union of Miners of Russia opposed the strike although some 400,000 workers at 154 mines, notably in the Kuznetsk Basin, stopped work and left the coal faces. Power stations owe 4.1 trillion rubles and the agricultural sector owes 2.7 trillion rubles to the coal industry. In addition, a World Bank loan of 900 billion rubles failed to reached the mining regions. Miners, power workers and metallurgy workers should make a joint effort to counter their concerns.

The efforts of the Russian government to pacify the coal strikes in Maritime Territory expose a conflict between the Kremlin administration and the region's authorities. Coal miners in Maritime Territory are threatening to strike for nonpayment of wages. Kremlin suspects Governor Yevgeny Nazdratenko for misusing 60 billion roubles allotted for the wages, while Maritime Territory authorities accuses the Center for nonpayment. To avoid a Russia-wide strike of coal miners, the Government is taking loans from the World Bank. The Center is hoping to crush Nazdratenko through his opponent Anatoly Chubais.

The Russian Federation Communist Party has remained the undisputed leader in the Duma elections as it accounted for 21.5% of the partial votes cast as of Dec. 22, 1995. The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia came in second with 11.08%, Russia Is Our Home received 9.83% and The Apple Assn. won 7.19%. Results are being determined by the Elections State Automated System, set up by the Central Electoral Commission at the Federal Information Technology Center. Pres. Boris Yeltsin expressed his confidence that the nation will continue treading its previous political course under the new State Duma.

Deputies in Russia's State Duma have passed laws which simplify tax procedures for small companies, which compensate regions for the loss of road tax and which make it harder to stage company takeovers through 'predatory bankruptcies'. Other laws passed by deputies include one which aims to help farmers get back on their feet by restructuring debts, writing of penalties and fines and improving the management of farms, and another law codifying the behaviour of media outlets in the Russian market.

The Russian Federal Communist Party (RFCP) is the controlling power in the opposition bloc, Popular Patriotic Union of Russia (PPUR), due to its majority. In the founding congress of the PPUR, Aleksandr Rutskoi of the Great Power movement called for political unification of the opposition. Sergei Baburin of Russian Union of All the People abstained from joining the PPUR because he feared a domination by the RFCP. While the radical Communists dissociated from joining the Zyuganov group, 13 leading Communists warned that the RFCP may become insignificant in the PPUR.

The Right to Vote citizens' committee has sent a petition to the Constitutional Court that calls for changes in Russian election law. In particular, the group is opposing party-slate candidates as unfavorable in single-seat districts and the 5% barrier that is meant to weed out weak political parties. However, proponents of the election law say that there is no need to amend it.

The issuance of a decree by president Vladimir Putin calling for measures to counter terrorism and also establishing the National Antiterrorism Committee (NAC), are discussed. The powers and duties of the committee are also presented.

The debate on the implications of State Duma's bill on nongovernmental organizations' activities are presented.

Russian parliament is planning to tighten the rules for financial reporting by non-governmental organizations in the country, many human rights groups have expressed their protests over the planned legislation, which will effect the NGO's in Russia working by foreign funds. A complete overview on this issue is presented.

Igor Rodionov, former Russian defense minister, has called the decision to close the Lourdes electronic intelligence-gathering center in Cuba a 'strategic blow to Russian security, while Andrei Nikolayev, the chairman of the Defense Committee argues that it is a move that will hurt Russia. However, Aleksei Arbatov, the vice-chairman of the Defense Committee, argues that the site costs too much when measured in relation to its intelligence value and that the facility is otherwise unneeded in the post-Cold War era.

A vote of no-confidence in the Russian government fell short of the required number of votes, March 14, 2001. The Unity party had originally decided to support the motion so that the Duma could be dissolved but switched sides to oppose the Communist faction.

Issues concerning Russian regional elections are discussed in several extracts from the Russian press. In particular the election of General Vladimir Shamanov to governor of Ulyanovsk Province is examined.

The collapse of the financial sector means that there are not enough well-paid jobs to allow professional people to have a middle class lifestyle.

The runoff for the 1996 presidential election in Russia is set for July 3. Boris Yeltsin and his main rival Gennady Zyuganov got 35.3% and 32.0% of the total votes respectively, polled in the first round of the elections on June 16. Zyuganov is accused of resorting to populism and political gimmicks, such as a plan for coalition ministry, which is seen as a ploy to garner more votes. The communists will really be in control in case Zyuganov wins the election. Hence, Bashkiria's President Murtaza Rakhimov and Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov have refrained from joining the coalition move.

The Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin is ready to support the holding of a nationwide referendum on the question of private ownership of land. Chernomyrdin feels that the issue of land reforms should precede the economic reforms. He feels that land reform can result in the hastening of reform and increase in foreign investment. Boris Yeltsin has vetoed Agrarians's draft Land Code which provides farmers the privilege of using land for the whole life and do not have the right to sell.

The 30the Congress of the remnant of CPSU (Union of Communist Parties/Communist Party of the Soviet Union) announced that they were the only force who can mobilize the society to restore the lost prestige of the country. Liberalism, monetarism and popular culture was identified as the three sources for the genesis of the crisis. The congress proposed that building a future society and state different from the Western version may bring the country out of the crisis. It also called for a single, united Communist Party.

Leaders of the Stable Russia (SR), a public political movement in Russia, have declared that they have no connections with the Russian presidential staff. A close look at the SR manifesto reveals the party's central bias. The SR shall contest elections in a joint campaign with the Accord Faction and other national parties in their support to Viktor Chernomyrdin. The Russia's Choice movement is seeking a new name while determining its preferred candidates and the Congress of Russian Communities has attracted Aleksandr Lebed.

The Agrarians are in a belligerent mood over the Russian government's takeover of farmlands, hike in energy rates, and disparity in prices of agricultural and manufactured goods. In an attempt to soothe their frayed nerves, Russian Premier Viktor Chernomyrdin ended up infuriating them further at the All Russia Peasants' Assembly. He announced plans for diverting funds from the rural sector but insisted on financial restructuring of sick units and competitive bidding of farmland. The Agrarian Party leadership may be under threat on this issue during the upcoming elections. Currently, farmers feel they lack the funds to begin spring planting.

A conference held in Russia on Sep 1994, organized by the Moscow City Committee of the Russian Federation Communist Party (RFCP) emphasized that the Soviet states should be revitalized instead of just idealized. The speakers called Pres Boris Yeltsin's government a federal dictatorship and asked for the support of the people in the RFCP poll to limit the power of the Federal Assembly. The speakers also dwelt on the issues of legality of the constitution and the economic problems faced by the country.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, urged the citizens of Moscow to vote for his party as only he can resolve the current political situation. Zhirinovsky promised to make Russia as prosperous as the West by following 'western methods' and by closing criminal commercial structures. He criticized political leaders such as Chubais, Shokhin, Shakhrai and Kozyrev.

Russian opposition leaders voiced their disapproval of Pres Boris Yeltsin's government in a gathering held at the Izmailovo indoor facility in May, 1994. Former Vice President Aleksandr Rutskoi hoped for the return of Soviet power and Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Russian Federation Communist Party, said that communism should return to Russia. The opposition leaders plan to field a consensus candidate for the presidential elections.

Opposition politicians in Belarus have concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposals for the integration of Russia and Belarus are obviously unacceptable and effectively turn the tables on Aleksandr Lukashenko. In the Russian Duma, four centrist factions and Aleksandr Barannikov of the Union of Rightist Forces have backed Putin's proposals, but Leftists have criticised the plans.