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To: goldsnow who wrote (15743)	1/13/2000 12:36:00 PM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Respond to of 17770

THE JAMESTOWN FOUNDATION PRISM A MONTHLY ON THE POST-SOVIET STATES November 1999 No.19 Part 3 ON THE POLITICAL FUTURE OF ALEXANDER LEBED By Vladimir Mironov As the summer [March 26] 2000 election approaches, some nervousness is evident among the Russian political elite, because the prize is the highest public position in Russia. It is unlikely that the powers the head of state now enjoys will undergo any change before then. The next president of the Russian Federation will thus have at his disposal the widest possible range of powers to formulate and implement both domestic and foreign policy. The potential candidates are preparing for the election campaign, seeking to take control of as many informational, financial, economic and political resources as possible, and to expand their social base. The names of most of the genuine candidates are already well known. Almost all of them are concentrated in Moscow, and either lead nationwide parliamentary parties (Gennady Zyuganov, Grigory Yavlinsky, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Viktor Chernomyrdin), or hold the high rank of prime minister in the federal government (Vladimir Putin being the man of the moment). Only one politician based outside the capital still has the Kremlin in his sights: Krasnoyarsk Governor Lieutenant-General Aleksandr Lebed. As the leader of a region which is the second largest (after Yakutia-Sakha) and perhaps the richest in terms of natural resources, he is trying hard to maintain his status as a nationwide political figure, attracting the attention of the federal media by spreading innuendo and rumors about the great prospects for his future career development. But does Lebed have a realistic chance of "riding into the Kremlin on a white horse" or is this just another example of unfounded political boastfulness? PER ASPERA AD ASTRA (THROUGH DIFFICULTIES TO THE STARS) Lebed's political career is very closely linked to the history of post-Soviet Russia. He became a household name during the events of August 1991, when the tank battalion commanded by the colonel of the paratroops turned up outside the Supreme Soviet. Despite his muddled and unintelligible explanation of his motives for appearing at the White House (either he had joined forces with the Russian authorities or he was preparing to carry out the orders of the putsch leaders), the media created the first myth about him: This unknown officer had become a defender of democratic Russia. Then came his posting to the Dnestr region and the making of his image as the general who forcibly put down the bloody conflict between Kishinev and Tiraspol. As commander of the 14th Russian Army, deployed in the Dnestr Moldavian Republic, Alexander Lebed never tired of emphasizing his tireless fight against corruption and crime inside the military and government structures in Tiraspol. For several years he expressed his discontent, pushing the limits of the permissible, and simultaneously collected medals and titles from the Russian president. He won his laurels as a peacemaker in 1996 when, as secretary of the Security Council, he signed the Khasaviurt treaty with Aslan Maskhadov. A few months later Boris Yeltsin fired Lebed, but the former army commander and former Security Council secretary did not give up his political activities, maintaining his presidential ambitions and waiting "for his country to call him." [...] amber.ucsf.edu

To: goldsnow who wrote (15743)	1/13/2000 12:53:00 PM
From: GUSTAVE JAEGER	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17770

============================ RFE/RL, 5 Jan 2000 LEBED SAYS HE WON'T RUN. Krasnoyarsk Krai Governor Aleksandr Lebed on 4 January said he does not plan to participate in the presidential elections, and will only run if "extreme" circumstances develop. He did not elaborate on what circumstances he would consider "extreme." Lebed added that he has only been governor for 18 months and still needs to implement his regional development program for the Krasnoyarsk region. So far, only Liberal Democratic Party leader Vladimir Zhirinovskii and acting President Putin have said they will seek the presidency. According to a draft version of the law on presidential elections, two candidates are a sufficient number to hold an election. JAC amber.ucsf.edu (bottommost news byte) Do you think that a new wave of appartment bombings could be interpreted as "extreme circumstances"?