KHASBULATOV TO CHECHNYA.

Former chairman of Russia’s Supreme Soviet Ruslan Khasbulatov told the media that he will travel to Grozny to promote early local elections in Chechnya, and that he will work through the Union of Peoples for the Liberation of the Republic, a movement he created. Khasbulatov stressed that he has "a free hand" to pursue a peace settlement in Chechnya from Vyacheslav Mikhailov and Interior Minister Anatoly Kulikov. Khasbulatov said that he would appeal both to Chechens and to the local Russian population for support. (6)

Khasbulatov is known both as an opponent of Dudayev and as Boris Yeltsin’s arch-rival, which should in theory give him a chance to play the role of a "third political force." But he may well overestimate his current popularity in Chechnya.

Russia’s Democratic Choice.