Russia’s Putin creates cabinet post for Chechnya

A Kremlin spokesman said Vladimir Yelagin, a former first deputy head of the state construction commission, had been given the rank of Minister with the brief of coordinating government agencies working on socio-economic development in Chechnya.

Russian officials and Chechens have complained that money sent to rebuild the devastated rebel region has disappeared.

Russian forces poured into Chechnya more than a year ago to smash pro-independence guerrillas they blamed for attacks on Russian cities. They have imposed Russian control over virtually the entire region, but have failed to stop rebel ambushes.

Russian forces virtually obliterated towns and villages in their path, especially the capital Grozny, once home to more than 4,00,000 people. Nearly 2,00,000 people have yet to return from neighbouring Russian provinces.

The apparent stalemate has frustrated the Kremlin. Putin told an annual meeting of top military brass last week: "Long months are passing, the people are suffering and the anti-terrorist operation needs to be completed."

Early this year, Russia had a Chechnya representative, Nikolai Koshman, with the rank of deputy Prime Minister. But he was left out of the new cabinet list after Putin’s inauguration in May.

Since then, Moscow’s top man in the region has been Akhmad Kadyrov, a former rebel guerrilla and Muslim cleric. His deputy and rival, Grozny mayor Bislan Gantamirov, was convicted of stealing millions of dollars in reconstruction funds during a previous 1994-96 war in the region.