Russia's election officials were too ambitious for their own good on March 23. If they had reported that, say, 60 percent of Chechens had turned out to vote in that day's constitutional referendum and that 60 percent of those had voted 'Yes,' that would have... MORE

DID "INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS" ENDORSE REFERENDUM? Pro-Kremlin media gave the impression on March 23 and March 24 that "international observers" had independently monitored the constitutional referendum and had found it to be free, fair and "in accordance with international standards." Typical was a March 23 Interfax... MORE

At a March 25 policy briefing hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, a State Department official said that the referendum would not constitute a "turning point" for U.S. policy. Mike Morrow, deputy director of the State Department's Office of Russian Affairs, said... MORE

Even before announcing the final results of the referendum, the head of Russia's Central Election Commission said on March 23 that the presidential elections in Chechnya would most likely take place in December--on the same day as the elections for the federal parliament. It did... MORE

Chechen guerrillas may have succeeded in downing two Russian helicopters three days before the referendum. The military lost radio contact with both MI-24 gunships on March 20, when they were escorting larger helicopters carrying Russian infantrymen on a combat mission. On that day the Ministry... MORE

The administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin and its allies in Grozny are clearly counting on a big win in Saturday's (March 22) referendum. Putin aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky said that "the appearance of voters in Chechnya is traditionally high," and the Russian media have been... MORE

In a March 16 television speech devoted entirely to this weekend's constitutional referendum in Chechnya, President Putin hinted at new concessions to Chechen public opinion. But he did it in such a way as to avoid making any detailed commitments. The state-controlled Russian television network... MORE

Someone is trying to get Chechens to think that Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov has abruptly repudiated almost everything for which he has worked over the last decade, including independence for Chechnya. Gazeta.ru reports that leaflets have recently appeared in several Chechen towns, ostensibly over... MORE

The Moscow activist group "For Human Rights" announced on March 14 that it had learned that Russian authorities had detained three Chechen activists at a checkpoint in Ingushetia the previous day. One of the three, Sulumbek Tashtamirov, was already on a hunger strike to protest... MORE

The underground separatist government's Foreign Minister, Ilyas Akhmadov, presented a new peace proposal in Washington on March 18. Under this plan, Chechnya would temporarily be governed by the United Nations: UN police would be responsible for keeping order and a UN administration would run basic... MORE