Daily Telegraph Editorial, May 10
"The assassination [on Sunday] of the Chechen leader Akhmad Kadyrov has struck Vladimir Putin in his
Achilles' heel. As Boris Yeltsin's chosen successor, the Russian president built his reputation on being able
to subdue the rebel republic . . . The Kremlin's political solution to the Chechen question rested on shaky
foundations . . . With [Sunday's] murder of the local placeman it lies in tatters.
"Mr Putin has spoken of retribution but there seems little scope for effective military action. He faces,
rather, the prospect of political chaos as Chechens vie for the succession . . . In his inaugural address last Friday,
Mr Putin said freedom was the foundation for economic growth and political stability in Russia. His authoritarian
behaviour gives the lie to those words - and nowhere more so than in Chechnya."
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