IGOR RODIONOV: HARD-LINER OR PRAGMATIST?

Rodionov’s appointment was greeted with some enthusiasm in Moscow yesterday, and his praises were sung by such diverse political figures as ultra-nationalists Vladimir Zhirinovsky and retired general Albert Makashov, the Communist chairman of the Duma’s security committee, Viktor Ilyukhin, and retired general Eduard Vorobev and Duma deputy Sergei Yushenkov, each associated with the reformist "Russia’s Democratic Choice." (Interfax, NTV, July 17) But it is difficult to pinpoint Rodionov’s views on national security. His performance in the Congress of People’s Deputies and his subsequent role, in 1992, in drafting an alternative Russian military doctrine with Cold War undertones marked him clearly as an anti-Western hard-liner. That assessment probably remains accurate today. But in a recent interview he suggested that Russia should abandon the effort to recreate military parity with the U.S., said he supported increased contacts and partnership with NATO, and criticized Moscow’s "megalomania" in declaring that "no problem in Europe or in any other region of the world can be solved without Russia’s participation." The greatest threat to Russia, he said, comes from within. (Novoye vremya, No. 27, July) In brief remarks yesterday, Rodionov said only that he would first concentrate on "hot spots" — Chechnya, Tajikistan, and Bosnia — and military reform. (Itar-Tass, July 17)

General Staffer Warns Against NATO Enlargement.