ZHIRINOVSKY’S DEPUTY ATTACKED.

The deputy leader of Russia’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR), Aleksandr Vengerovsky, was shot and wounded in the knee as he walked his poodle outside his apartment in downtown Moscow yesterday evening. (8) Vengerovsky, who chairs the Duma Subcommittee on Foreign Intelligence, was not seriously hurt. Earlier in the day, Vengerovsky had announced that the parliamentary subcommittee he chairs is to conduct closed hearings in late March to probe the efficiency of the intelligence services "in counteracting the participation of foreign mercenaries in military actions in Chechnya." He also announced that the Duma is taking steps to monitor the use of state funds by the intelligence services. (9) Last weekend, Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky said Vengerovsky was likely to run as the LDPR candidate in the mayoral elections in Moscow in June.

Three Separate Commissions to Make Policy Recommendations on Chechnya.