Death of a Dissident - Alex Goldfarb [49]
The Chechens promptly gave their evidence to Rybkin and Boris when they landed. Rybkin immediately went on the air to attack Kulikov, using the ever-ready ORT crew that Boris brought along.
“Many people both in Chechnya and in Russia want to destroy the fragile peace, but we will put an end to these attempts … regardless of how high a post they occupy or what kind of stars they wear on their shoulder straps,” he said in a live interview from the steps of his aircraft.
“And then something really ugly happened,” recalled Zakayev, still fuming with rage at the memory. “This idiot, Salman Raduyev, claimed responsibility for the railway bombing.” Raduyev was a guerrilla leader who still commanded a militia and was looking for ways to boost his credibility. He announced that the bombing was his way of marking the anniversary of President Dudayev’s assassination. “We knew for a fact that he had nothing to do with it,” Zakayev said. “Maskhadov was enraged. He ordered him arrested for making false statements. But that was how our own Party of War played off theirs. And it was the first time that I realized that the Russians were prepared to stage terror attacks against their own people so as to blame them on us.”
The Moscow apartment bombings were just two years away.
The Kremlin, 12 May 1997
Peace Treaty and Principles of Interrelations between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
The esteemed parties to the agreement, desiring to end their centuries-long antagonism and striving to establish firm, equal and mutually beneficial relations, hereby agree:
1. To reject forever the use of force or threat of force in resolving all matters of dispute.
2. To develop their relations on generally recognized principles and norms of international law. In doing so, the sides shall interact on the basis of specific concrete agreements.
3. This treaty shall serve as the basis for concluding further agreements and accords on the full range of relations.
4. This treaty is written in two copies and both have equal legal power.
5. This treaty is active from the day of signing.
Boris Yeltsin
Aslan Maskhadov
CHAPTER 6 THE PLOTTERS
Chechnya-Dagestan border, June 6, 1997: Four Russian journalists held by kidnappers are released and flown home to Moscow on Boris Berezovsky’s plane. Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov applauds the event. His recent decree imposes the death penalty for kidnappings and launches a special police operation to free any captives still held for ransom by warlords. “Maskhadov’s success will bolster his influence,” says Ivan Rybkin, the head of the Russian National Security Council. “But not everyone in Grozny and Moscow will clap their hands.”
Moscow, summer 1997
The two wars with Chechnya were really a single conflict, with a two-and-a-half-year hiatus in the middle. During that pause, events in Moscow spun out of control for Sasha, as he became entangled in the struggle between FSB top brass and Boris’s Kremlin ring. In the meantime, a bitter feud developed among the members of the Davos Pact, undermining the stability of Yeltsin’s government. George Soros and I found ourselves sympathizing with the opposing sides of the new divide. I should have seen the split coming when Boris told me in early June that he was trying to take control of Gazprom, the world’s largest producer of natural gas, and he once again needed Soros’s help.
A board meeting of Gazprom was scheduled for June 28. Boris explained that if George backed him with a major investment this would make it possible for him to become Gazprom’s chairman. He had already been assured support from Prime Minister Chernomyrdin. Once in charge, Boris planned to clean up Gazprom operations, modernize its management, and make it a transparent, Western-style company. Future demand for gas in Europe was expected to skyrocket, making Gazprom one of the most powerful companies in the world.
George was then