The Russian state "is not a country, it's a circus," national security adviser Alexander Lebed complained to journalists last week. A few hours before, following accusations that he was planning to seize power with the help of the Russian military and Chechen rebels, Lebed had been abruptly booted from office. At his press conference, the longtime general and hero of the people launched his normal array of barbed one-liners, accusing fellow government leaders of being "rotten," describing President Boris Yeltsin as "elderly and sick," then adding that he had no plans to be critical of the President: "I don't hit a...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
