Elections Unlikely Until Fall

Though Kadyrov can presently count on a tame parliament within Chechnya–as Putin can in Russia as a whole–he seems to dislike even the external forms of parliamentary government with its checks and balances. According to a January 14 article by Ivan Sukhov in Vremya novostei, elections to form Chechnya’s new parliament as specified in the March 2002 constitution will probably not take place until the autumn of 2004, despite the fact that it would be possible to conduct them as early as this month. In the meantime, legislative functions for Chechnya will continue to be performed by a state council that consists of local district leaders appointed by Kadyrov himself.