The Japanese daily Asahi Shimbun is reporting that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi is interested in visiting the disputed Southern Kuril Islands; the "Northern Territories" in Japanese parlance. Koizumi hopes to at least make a helicopter or boat tour of the islands as soon as... MORE

In mid-August, the Bush administration unveiled plans for the global redeployment of U.S. troops. According to the Pentagon blueprint, around 100,000 U.S. servicemen will be moved from Western Europe and Asia back to North America, while some units will be sent to new forward positions... MORE

The Federal Security Service (FSB) has abandoned its initial opinion that the near-simultaneous crashes of two civilian airliners on August 24 were likely the result of pilot error, mechanical defects, or problems with fuel quality. Within days, the FSB announced that investigators had found evidence... MORE

The U.S. government on August 12 weighed in on the situation surrounding the beleaguered Russian oil giant Yukos. State Department Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli reiterated the position that Washington has stated in the past--that, as he put it on this occasion, "All parties need to... MORE

Naval maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean will mark the first joint exercises conducted between the Russian Navy and NATO. On August 7 the Baltic Fleet set sail for the Mediterranean Sea to join the Spanish Navy and sail to the Atlantic and demonstrate their battle... MORE

While the battle for Yukos plays out in Moscow, another oil-related struggle continues to unfold on Russia's eastern frontier. China is currently facing energy shortages and brownouts at a time when imported energy is critical to its economic and overall security. But as China's demands... MORE

The "mystery backer" behind an offer to pay off Yukos' tax arrears is a consortium of Dubai-based investors, the Sunday Times reported on August 8. "Members of Dubai's ruling Maktoum family are believed to have joined a bid fronted by Konstantin Kagalovsky, a former associate... MORE

Although Russia's transition to democracy is understandably going through fits and starts, the July 4 and 19 mayoral elections in Vladivostok highlighted the true rot that exists in the Primorye region. Ultimately Vladimir Nikolayev, director of the fishing and shipping concern TURNIF, was elected mayor... MORE

Yukos' topsy-turvy fortunes took another sharp dip downward on August 5, when the Justice Ministry announced it had revoked an earlier decision by court bailiffs allowing the company to use frozen funds to pay for day-to-day operations. Meanwhile, some analysts suggested that the contradictory decisions... MORE

The State Duma on August 3 approved a Kremlin-supported bill in its second reading that would replace Soviet-vintage social benefits -- to such groups as pensioners, war veterans, the disabled, and Chernobyl cleanup workers -- with cash payments. The lower parliamentary chamber is expected to... MORE