Valentinas Mite

Also by Valentinas Mite

• June 30, 2006

  Putin's Orders In Iraq Create Challenges For The FSB

  President Vladimir Putin has ordered his security service to hunt down and "destroy" those responsible for the slaying of four employees of the Russian Embassy in Iraq.  But the task is most likely easier said than done.

• June 28, 2006

  Basayev Appointment Sends Signal To Russia And Beyond

  Shamil Basayev, who claimed responsibility for the 2004 Beslan school siege, has been appointed vice president of the breakaway republic's separatist government, putting Russia's most-wanted man next in line to become the separatist government's head.

• June 27, 2006

  Activists, Journalists Awarded For Chechnya Work

  Amnesty International has presented a group based in Nizhny Novgorod with an award for highlighting and defending human rights in Chechnya.

• June 26, 2006

  Russia: Diplomats' Fate Brings Chechen Issue To Fore

  The scene of the hostage taking (file photo) (TV screen shot) PRAGUE, June 25, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- A militant umbrella organization that includes Al-Qaeda in Iraq on June 25 posted an Internet video showing the purported slaying of four employees of the Russian Embassy in Baghdad, saying in a statement that they were killed in revenge for Russia's actions against Muslims.

• June 23, 2006

  Ukraine: Another Gas War With Russia Could Loom

  Yuliya Tymoshenko (file photo) (ITAR-TASS) Russia's gas giant Gazprom has denounced calls by Yuliya Tymoshenko -- who is expected to become Ukraine's prime minister -- to review the contentious gas deal that raised the price Ukraine pays for Russian gas supplies. Gazprom said reopening the deal, which was inked in January after Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine, could spark a new energy crisis in Europe. However, there seems to be consent among Ukrainian politicians that the deal has to be renegotiated.

• June 22, 2006

  Prolonged Political Wrangling Has Its Cost

  After three months of deadlock, the political groupings behind Ukraine's Orange Revolution have agreed to form a coalition. But Kyiv will pay a price for taking so long.

• June 21, 2006

  Life Behind Bars

  Valery Levaneuski spent two years in a Belarusian prison for "publicly causing offense to the president." "The Hrodno jail is a place where even the walls and ceilings are depressing," Levaneuski said. "It was built a long time ago and many prisoners have died in those cells."

• June 14, 2006

  Russia: Will Putin Pursue Third Term, Or Will It Pursue Him?

  Putin's Belarusian counterpart Alyaksandr Lukashenka (right) amended the constitution to fit his needs (epa) PRAGUE, June 14, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- In Russian politics, there is Vladimir Putin, and there is everybody else. The Russian leader, enjoying a robust 77-percent approval rating well into his second term, would likely have no serious rivals in the country's 2008 presidential elections. But the constitution, as it stands, forbids a third consecutive term in office.

• May 31, 2006

  Russia: Tycoon Poised To Acquire Stake In European Steelmaker

  The Arcelor steel plant near Liege, Belgium (AFP) PRAGUE, May 31, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- The head of the Russian steel company Severstal, Aleksei Mordashov, is looking to become the biggest shareholder of the Luxembourg-based steelmaker Arcelor SA.

• May 31, 2006

  Country's Main Islamic University To Offer Secular Curriculum

  For years, Russia's Muslims had go abroad for a formal religious education. But in 1998, the country's first Islamic university was founded in Tatarstan. Now a controversy is brewing over plans to add secular subjects to the curriculum.

• May 16, 2006

  Economic, Social Conditions Blamed For Divorce Rate

  With one of the worst divorce rates in the world, Belarus faces an uphill climb in its campaign to persuade families to have more children.

• May 12, 2006

  Plane Crash Reveals Cracks In Moscow-Yerevan Ties

  Last week's fatal crash of an Armenian airliner near the Russian resort town of Sochi has revealed tensions in the usually warm relations between Yerevan and Moscow.

• May 04, 2006

  Draft Iran Resolution Confirms Split In Security Council

  While the five permanent members of the Security Council all agree that none wants to see Iran obtain nuclear weapons, there is a clear division on how to go resolve the crisis.

• May 04, 2006

  Recovery Efforts, Investigation Continue Following Air Crash

  Relatives have gathered in the Russian resort town of Sochi to begin the difficult task of identifying some of the 113 victims of the May 3 crash of an Armenian Airbus A320 en route to Sochi from the Armenian capital, Yerevan.

• April 27, 2006

  Milinkevich Sentenced To Jail After Rally

  A Minsk court has sentenced opposition leader Alyaksandr Milinkevich to 15 days in jail on charges of organizing an unsanctioned protest rally.

• April 26, 2006

  Activists Mark Chornobyl Anniversary

  Belarusians ostensibly assembled in Minsk to commemorate Chornobyl -- but the rally had the added significance of being the first organized demonstration since the violent March 25 protests in the wake of the Belarus's presidential election.

• April 20, 2006

  Photographers Aim To Keep Memory Of Disaster Alive

  This month, the world marks the 20th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster. In Belarus and Ukraine, the accident left huge swathes of land deserted and radioactive, with human life only a distant memory. A new photo exhibition in Prague is attempting to keep the memory of Chornobyl alive.

• April 17, 2006

  Iran To Fund Hamas Government

  Iranian officials say Tehran is donating $50 million to the cash-strapped Palestinian Authority to fill gaps left by Western aid cuts.

• April 12, 2006

  Lukashenka's Third Term Fraught With Economic Dangers

  Alyaksandr Lukashenka has won the opportunity to continue serving as Belarus's president, but he must now face harsh economic realities that could make his third term a rocky one.

• April 07, 2006

  African Student Killed In Possible Hate Crime

  A Senegalese college student was shot dead in St. Petersburg in what investigators are considering a possible hate crime. The killing comes as the city, indeed Russia, is experiencing a wave of racially-motivated crimes.

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