AGRARIAN LEADER ATTACKS SHAKHRAI

Publication: Monitor Volume: 1 Issue: 84

Age: 29 years

. Agrarian party leader Mikhail Lapshin sharply criticized deputy premier Sergei Shakhrai’sunsubstantiated allegations against Bashkortostan concerningthe training of Chechen militants, Russian radio reported August28. And Lapshin said that Premier Viktor Chernomyrdin’s failureto rein in his deputy meant that regional leaders who were backingChernomyrdin and his "Russia is Our Home" electoralbloc should "think very seriously about who determines thephilosophy of interethnic relations in this home." Threedays earlier, Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky also criticizedShakhrai as "unfit" for office. And Bashkortostan’spresident Murtaza Rakhimov has sued Shakhrai for his comments.Shakhrai has frequently taken a hard line on dealing with theregions- -he was one of the advocates of the use of force in Chechnya–but as an ally of Boris Yeltsin, he may neverthelesssurvive this current round of attacks.

Military Opposes Having Soldiers Serve Near Home.