THE appointment of a businessnan accused of conspiracy to murder as Russia's deputy security chief has blown apart attempts to establish a political consensus in the lead up to President Yeltsin's heart operation.
The appointment of automobile and media tycoon Mr Boris Berezovsky as deputy to Gen Alexander Lebed's successor, Mr "Ivan Rybkin, has been condemned by all shades of political opinion and has threatened to sink Mr Yeltsin's new Consultative Council before it even holds its first meeting.
The council included Mr Yeltsin's chief of staff, Mr Anatoly Chubais, the Prime Minister, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, and the speakers of both houses of the Russian parliament. Yesterday the communist speaker of the Duma announced that he would boycott the council's meetings unless Mr Chubais and Mr Berezovsky were dismissed.
Mr Chubais is generally believed to, be behind Mr Berezovsky's appointment as Mr Yeltsin had already cancelled all engagements in preparation for his operation.
The communist party leader, Mr Gennady Zyuganov, described the appointment as "insulting and ridiculous", while the liberal deputy, Mr Sergei Yushenkov - a member of Mr Chubais's own party was quoted as saying: "I am amazed that people like him are appointed to such posts people whose guilt has never been established, but never denied either."
There have been numerous accusations of illegal activities including conspiring to have business competitors liquidated". Gen Lebed also said that following the end of the war in Chechnya he was approached by Berezovsky who said. Look at what a beautiful business you have ruined."
Mr Berezovsky has major interests in the LogoVaz automobile plant and in the country's leading TV channel ORT. Fifty one per cent of the station is owned by the state and Mr Berezovsky is believed to own most of the other shares. He is also believed to have been a major contributor to the funding of Mr Yeltsin's re election campaign.
The current political climate is loaded with scandalous revelations and rumours of further scandals to come. In yesterday's issue of the popular daily Komsomolskaya Pravda Mr Pavel Voshchanov who was once Mr Yeltsin's press secretary said he had been shown documents which "made his hair stand on end" concerning the movement of funds abroad by 12 prominent politicians. He was then contacted and asked to meet unnamed people at a country dacha outside Moscow to be given further information but when he arrived he was beaten up.
The Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper which, incidentally, is financially supported by Mr Berezovsky, reported that Gen Alexander Korzhakov, a one time close confidant of Mr Yeltsin, has placed documents abroad which includes materials he compiled on high officials during his 11 years in the Kremlin. The newspaper reported that Gen Korzhakov had enough information to start impeachment proceedings against Mr Yeltsin.
. Russia at the last moment has backed away from an agreement on regional missile defences that was set for signing today, US officials said yesterday. "This has been called off. There'll be no signing ceremony in Geneva on Thursday . . . We're disappointed by Russia's reversal of its own position," the State Department spokesman, Mr Nicholas Burns, told reporters.
. The Russian Foreign Minister, Mr Yevgeny Primakov, said yesterday in Cairo that his country would do its utmost to keep the Middle East peace process on the same track the Arabs and Israelis agreed upon in Madrid in 1991.
