Kremlin Calls Secession Threats a Smoke Screen

A high-ranking Kremlin official on Thursday accused the flamboyant president of the southern republic of Kalmykia of trying to deflect questions about his finances by threatening to secede from Russia.

Oleg N. Sysuyev, deputy chief of President Boris N. Yeltsin’s administration, also announced that new criminal investigations have been opened into allegations that Kirsan N. Ilyumzhinov has illegally mishandled federal funds.

Ilyumzhinov’s recent complaints about Moscow and talk of secession are “a smoke screen to divert attention from efforts to sort out financial dealings by the republic’s leadership,” Sysuyev said.

Suspicions have swirled for months around Ilyumzhinov, who has spent millions on special projects, including a luxurious center for chess tournaments, while state funds for workers’ salaries have dried up.

Earlier this week, Ilyumzhinov blamed authorities in Moscow, saying his small, agricultural republic has received no financial support for months. Under the circumstances, he said, Kalmykia might consider loosening its ties to the Russian Federation or even seceding.

His remarks have unleashed a flood of criticism from parliament and the Kremlin, saying that threats to secede are a violation of the constitution.

“What is at stake here is a breakup of the Russian Federation,” said Gennady N. Seleznyov, the chairman of parliament’s lower house, the Duma. “Despite all the mysterious smiles of Ilyumzhinov, he’s not a 15-year-old kid who can make such statements to boost his popularity. He must understand that today he is encroaching upon the foundations of the Russian Federation’s state structure, and for that he must be held fully responsible.”

Sysuyev said he had discussed the allegations with the country’s top prosecutor, who has opened a number of investigations into the republic’s shady financial affairs.

Further investigation is also underway in the death of a journalist who had written about Ilyumzhinov’s financial dealings.

Ilyumzhinov, who was elected in 1993, is also president of the World Chess Federation. He has held several world-class chess tournaments in Kalmykia, presumably using his personal funds.

He has said the money comes from his off-budget President’s Fund, whose coffers are filled by donations from businesses taking part in a tax haven he established.

Even if an investigation uncovers irregularities, it would be hard to hold Ilyumzhinov accountable. As president of a Russian republic, he is a member of parliament’s upper house and is covered by parliamentary immunity. The upper chamber has never lifted immunity for a member.

In addition to financial improprieties, critics accuse Ilyumzhinov of using immoral and illegal means to repress political opposition in the republic and of playing a role in the slaying of opposition journalist Larisa Yudina in June.

Four men have confessed to the killing, one of whom was a member of Ilyumzhinov’s administration.