Interfax in English

May 22, 1997

May 22 (Interfax) -- Former Russian security chief Aleksandr Lebed said Thursday's [22 May] dismissal of Defense Minister Igor Rodionov was a "good maneuver to distract public opinion from the failure of the military reform in the country." "After 42 years of faultless service Rodionov decided that if he bowed down to authority everything would be okay... First of all he bowed in the business with the commander-in-chief of the land forces, Gen. Vladimir Semyonov (deputy minister accused of corruption), then he had his military jacket replaced with a civilian one, and finally he didn't even review the (Victory Day) military parade on Red Square," Lebed told Interfax. "Don't grovel, servicemen, or civilians either for that matter," he appealed. Lebed said he was sure the minister's firing was the work of Defense Council chief Yuriy Baturin.

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Johnson's Russia List

24 May 1997

djohnson@cdi.org