…WHILE GRACHEV SAYS HE WON’T RESIGN.

Russian defense minister Pavel Grachev told reporters January 10 that he had no intention of resigning and expects to remain defense minister at least until the 1996 Presidential election. (16) Much like former foreign minister Andrei Kozyrev, who resigned this month, Grachev has survived numerous attempts to oust him. The latest calls for his dismissal follow the seizure of hostages by Chechen rebels in Dagestan. Grachev appeared ripe for sacking after the June 1995 Budennovsk hostage crisis, when reports suggested that both Yeltsin and Chernomyrdin had voted for his dismissal during a Security Council meeting. He has been excoriated for mismanagement of the original Russian military operation in Chechnya and his failure to reform the armed forces, as well as for the corruption that has reached the top of the military high command.

Zyuganov Expects Presidential Nomination Today.