KRASNODAR WAS PREPARING FOR TERRORISM BEFORE DAGESTAN CRISIS…

A week before Chechen fighters seized 2,000 hostages in the Dagestani town of Kizlyar, governor P. Marchenko of Stavropol krai said he had been promised special powers if his region was again threatened by terrorist action. Stavropol krai borders Chechnya and Dagestan. Chechen rebels’ first hostage seizure occurred there last June in the town of Budennovsk. In the event of another such crisis, President Boris Yeltsin has decreed that all armed units in the region will be subordinated to the governor for the duration of the emergency, the governor said. (7) Marchenko said confusion and lack of coordination between militia and army units in last year’s hostage crisis allowed Chechen rebels to escape retribution for the Budennovsk raid.

…After Crisis, Cossacks Create Self-Defense Units.