WEEKEND CALM IN GROZNY.

Chechnya’s independence day — celebrated on Friday, September 6 — passed relatively peacefully. As Maskhadov had promised Lebed, there were no military parades in Grozny and only religious services were held. Order was maintained on the streets of the capital by joint patrols and federal and Chechen troops. To mark the occasion, Chechen political leader Zelimkhan Yandarbiev declared an amnesty, absolving from criminal liability those who had worked for the federal forces and the pro-Moscow government of Doku Zavgaev, with the exception of those guilty of especially serious crimes against the republic. (Interfax, September 6) On Sunday, Russian and Chechen troops met in Grozny to play an unprecedented soccer match. The field was checked for mines before the start of the game, which the Russian side won. (BBC World Service, September 8)

Negotiations Proceeding over Coalition Government.