THREE GENERALS….

In the April 29 balloting for governor of Krasnoyarsk,General Aleksandr Lebed finished 10 points ahead, well positioned to win aMay 17 run-off. Lebed calls Krasnoyarsk, a sparsely populated Siberianregion twice the size of Texas, a microcosm of Russia. The forceful,stubborn, angry, populist general reasons that if he can win in Krasnoyarsk,he can win nationwide. If he keeps the backing of media, oil, and bankingmagnate Boris Berezovsky, who aided him in Krasnoyarsk, he will be aformidable figure in the presidential race in the year 2000.

Rosvooruzhenie, the state-owned arms exporter, named former Defense MinisterGeneral Pavel Grachev its chief military adviser, reportedly on therecommendation of President Boris Yeltsin. Long rumored to be thoroughlycrooked, Grachev was recently questioned in connection with the murder of apopular journalist looking into military corruption. He should fit in wellat Rosvooruzhenie, where the company and its director are under investigation.

General Lev Rokhlin, a member of the Duma, founded the anti-Yeltsin movement”For the Defense of the Army” with Pavel Grachev a year ago. Lately he hasratcheted up his rhetoric, coming close to a treasonous appeal for thegovernment’s violent overthrow. But no one seems to be listening. Massivedemonstrations called for April 27 failed to materialize. In Volgograd,authorities arrested activists trying to distribute leaflets to servicemenin the garrison. Otherwise, the event just fizzled.

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