New Russian Premier Vows to End Rebellion in Dagestan

Facing Russia’s worst rebellion since the Chechen war, new Acting Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin vowed Tuesday to bring the volatile southern republic of Dagestan back under federal control within two weeks, a promise that could rebound on him later.

Putin, the man President Boris N. Yeltsin has anointed as his preferred successor, put his credibility on the line on his first day in office with his pledge to crush the uprising by several hundred Islamic fighters in western Dagestan, near the border with Chechnya.

In comments reported in Russia’s Kommersant newspaper, Putin indicated that he was considering the introduction of a state of emergency in the area of the fighting.

As the Kremlin’s chosen presidential candidate, the dour Putin, a former spy, has a long way to go to transform himself into popular presidential material in time for the election in July.

Analysts say Putin will earn respect among voters if he restores order quickly in Dagestan--but if the battles in Russia’s unstable Caucasus region drag on and casualties rise, his credibility will be undermined.

Putin emerged Monday with the blessing of Yeltsin and his entourage, known here simply as The Family, when the president named a preferred successor for the first time after firing his entire Cabinet for the fourth time in 17 months. Yeltsin’s choice of the gray but loyal Putin was widely seen as a sign of The Family’s determination to hold on to power after the presidential election.

Russian security forces continued a major air offensive Tuesday to try to regain control of a mountainous region in western Dagestan, a republic that is home to at least 30 ethnic groups. Last weekend, hundreds of Islamic rebels, reportedly both Dagestanis and Chechens, seized at least four Dagestani villages near the towns of Tsumadin and Botlikh.

Describing his mood as combative, Putin met with Yeltsin on Tuesday to decide how to deal with the Dagestani crisis. At a later meeting with Russia’s Federal Anti-Terrorist Commission, Putin asserted that the situation in Dagestan remained tense but was improving.

“Today we are confronted with widespread acts of terrorism and violations of the law in the Caucasus and in particular Dagestan. Such a situation cannot be tolerated on the territory of Russia,” the acting prime minister warned.

“The Interior Ministry of Russia and the republic of Dagestan have been assigned the mission of restoring order and discipline there within the shortest possible period of time. The mission is able to be accomplished, and it will be accomplished,” Putin said.

Analyst Dmitri Y. Furman of the Institute of Europe think tank said that like Russia’s 22-month war against separatist Chechnya, from 1994 to 1996, the Dagestan conflict could drag on, ruining Putin’s presidential hopes.

“If Putin cannot quell the uprising in Dagestan, it will put his career as prime minister to rest and be the kiss of death to his presidential ambitions,” Furman said. “If Putin wins the war as promised, in a matter of one or two weeks, he will be seen as a Russian hero.”

As Russian planes continued to hit rebel positions, top military officials claimed Russia had won the upper hand, announcing that they had forced a retreat by the fighters. Russian air force commander Col. Gen. Anatoly M. Kornukov said Russian attack and reconnaissance aircraft had flown 78 sorties over rebel positions. He said the airstrikes would continue.

“These gangs must be destroyed, as they take no pity on anyone,” he said.

The Defense Ministry also claimed to have destroyed two rebel tanks, three of the insurgents’ antiaircraft guns and one truck loaded with ammunition.

The rebel leaders, describing themselves as the Islamic Shura [Council] of Dagestan, issued a statement declaring the territory of Dagestan an independent Islamic state--a claim immediately rejected by officials of Dagestan’s pro-Moscow government. No names were attached to the rebel statement, which was handed to journalists in the Chechen capital, Grozny.

It was not clear who the rebel leaders were. Putin said Tuesday that it was obvious the fighters had invaded Dagestan from Chechnya. After Chechnya forced Russia to withdraw in the war over Chechen independence, Russia effectively lost control of Chechen territory.

Russia has accused two military commanders from Chechnya: Shamil Basayev, infamous in Russia for leading a raid on the southern town of Budennovsk in 1995 during the Chechen war, and another figure known as Khattab. There has been no confirmation of the Russian claims, however.

On Tuesday, Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov denied Chechen involvement in the fighting, which he called a “dirty game.”

“One war is enough for us. We now want to create and construct rather than doom our people to destruction,” said Maskhadov, who apparently exercises little control over commanders such as Basayev.

It also remained unclear Tuesday how many rebel fighters were involved in the battles, with reports varying from a few hundred to a thousand.

Putin has made no announcement on his planned Cabinet other than to say there will be few changes, but Tuesday he told reporters that it was up to Yeltsin to decide the future of the ministers leading the country’s military and security forces.