Word: yeltsin
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However it happened, though, Dudayev is gone. Yeltsin has said publicly that his re-election could depend on the outcome of the Chechen war; and in the short term, the elimination of the charismatic rebel, who had turned himself into a personal nemesis for Yeltsin, may look like a success and give the President a boost. In the longer run, the abrupt end of Dudayev's one-man leadership could result in splits and instability among the Chechen rebel commanders and make a settlement even harder to reach. Still, Yeltsin will no doubt be glad Dudayev is finished. The dapper...
...With or without Dudayev," Yeltsin said last week, "we shall wind up everything in Chechnya with peace." That still seems a far-off objective. Yeltsin's March 31 announcement of a cease-fire and an attempt at new negotiations brought no apparent slowdown in the fighting. Nevertheless, early last week with visiting President Bill Clinton at his side, Yeltsin insisted that "military actions are not going on" in Chechnya. Was he lying or out of touch with reality...
Perhaps neither of those extremes. Yeltsin had issued hold-back orders but gave the military considerable latitude in how to carry them out. As an administration official says, "I don't think Yeltsin is lying--from his point of view. He wouldn't lie to Bill Clinton. From his own perspective, it's a matter of what comprises a military operation. The way he sees it, the Russians aren't planning any big operations; the troops are just defending themselves." However Yeltsin views the conflict, it still looks very much like a war. Two weeks ago, Chechen rebels ambushed...
...Yeltsin had called for contacts, through middlemen, with Dudayev. Even though the Chechen chief is dead and the fighting continues, such feelers with rebel leaders are still possible. But for the moment the outlook is not good. Dudayev's successor seems to be his vice president, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, who has a reputation as an ideologue and a believer in war to the end. Russian human-rights advocate Sergei Kovalyov, who has spent months in Chechnya, calls the new chief "a fanatic...
...forced out soon by another strongman, possibly the battlefield commander Shamil Basayev, who was named last week to handle any future parleys with Moscow. But if the Chechens stand firm on Dudayev's basic demand--full independence--there will be little to discuss with the Kremlin. In spite of Yeltsin's peace maneuvers, it seems likely he will carry the burden of Chechnya into the election...