Ultimately, he and some other Russian observers maintain, the goal of developing Russian business rapidly may justify using less than perfect means.

The Russian military observer on the same aircraft was Colonel-General Ramsey Machado.

Russian observers joined with those from other former Soviet nations in decreeing Mr. Lukashenko's victory both democratic and fair.

Russian observers expressed doubts about Kiriyenko's youth and inexperience.

Whether or not the trend comes at the cost of literature, there is a new craze for self-help books, Russian observers say.

And from a Russian observer, Boris Marshalov, visiting the House of Representatives: "Congress is so strange.

After a while, Russian observers were able to determine that the rocket was heading away from Russian airspace and was not a threat.

In addition to Russian observers the election commission said that it would call on the Council of Europe.

Dudaev's inexperienced and poorly-guided economic policies soon began to undermine Chechnya's economy and, Russian observers claimed, allegedly transformed the region into a criminal paradise.

Seasoned Russian observers, for their part, say the cloak-and-dagger mentality is deeply embedded and is certain to persist.