Russian officials maintained a tense silence yesterday over the unexplained disappearance of two helicopter gunships in rebel Chechnya, as the war-ravaged region made last-minute preparations for a controversial referendum on its future.
The attack aircraft went missing on Thursday, as they shadowed transport helicopters ferrying troops to southern Chechnya to guard polling booths ahead of tomorrow's vote on a new constitution for the republic, which has been shattered by two wars with Moscow since 1994.
State television made little mention of the search for the lost gunships yesterday, preferring to focus on official optimism surrounding a referendum that the Kremlin says could lead to peace and broad autonomy for Chechnya - but which would undermine the region's hopes for independence by formalising its place within the Russian Federation.
In a speech broadcast across the republic this week, President Vladimir Putin called the vote "a historic moment for the people of the Chechnya". He said a "positive outcome" would bring major funds for rebuilding shattered infrastructure, compensation for the people whose homes have been destroyed, and even a possible amnesty for some rebels.
The Russian leader admitted "life in Chechnya in many ways still looks like life in a disaster zone," but insisted the referendum could help "bring about a day when Russian citizens in Chechnya no longer live in fear.When they no longer have to be afraid of a night-time knock on the door. When they no longer have to hide during mopping-up operations."
His speech came shortly after rebels destroyed two polling booths and killed half a dozen Russian soldiers in the kind of daily attacks that make a mockery of the Kremlin's claims to have subdued Chechnya's guerrilla forces.
Several Western democracy watchdogs have refused to send monitors to the referendum, saying security cannot be guaranteed, and rebel leader Mr Aslan Maskhadov has warned that his fighters may intensify attacks around what he called last week "Russia's attempt to make us vote at gunpoint."
Moscow says Mr Maskhadov's men are funded by radical Islamic groups including al-Qaeda, and was overjoyed when Washington recently included three rebel groups on its list of international terror organisations.
Leading rights groups accuse rebels and Russian troops of persistent abuses in the region and the Council of Europe enraged Moscow this month by floating the idea of establishing an international war crimes tribunal to deal with the hundreds of allegations.