From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 3/3/2006 12:42 AM
ABRAMOV'S RESIGNATION
01.03.2006 - 15:00:00

(Coharkale/Ajans Kafkas) - Nabi Abdullaev’s article about pro-Russian Chechen Government’s Prime Minister Sergey Abramov’s resignation on the condition that Kadirov to be prime minister and the possible changes in Chechen Government after that.

Chechnya's Kremlin-appointed prime minister, Sergei Abramov, submitted his resignation on Tuesday and opened the way for his widely feared deputy, Ramzan Kadyrov, to succeed him.

Kadyrov, the 29-year-old head of a brutal militia, has been the acting prime minister since Abramov, 34, was seriously injured in a car crash outside Moscow in November.

Abramov, who has served as prime minister for two years, is the last non-ethnic Chechen to hold a senior post in the Chechen government, and his presence has been seen as a Kremlin attempt to keep tabs on the Chechen officials.

"I can now say that I received today a written statement from Sergei Borisovich [Abramov] asking to resign. We will consider it... Unfortunately, Sergei Abramov's health so far does not allow him to return to his post" Chechen President Alu Alkhanov said at a news conference in Moscow.

However Abramov denied that health reasons were behind his resignation and said that he wanted to hand over his post to Kadyrov, Itar-Tass reported. Abramov has been hospitalized in Germany since Feb. 1, where he is being treated for injuries sustained when his car collided with a truck.

Abramov called his decision to resign "most appropriate."

Alkhanov refused to name a possible successor to Abramov, who has served as prime minister since March 2004. But he said he might appoint a replacement as soon as Thursday.

Kadyrov said the resignation had caught him off guard. "Sergei Abramov's decision to leave the post of the head of the republican government was an unpleasant surprise for me," Kadyrov said in a statement posted on the web site of the Chechen government. "I regret it, because Sergei Borisovich has done a lot for the republic's recovery."

Both Abramov and Kadyrov had earlier tried to dispel media speculation that Abramov would not return. Two weeks ago, Abramov called the speculation as "groundless" and "unethical."

According to Akhmar Zavgayev, representative of Chechnya in the State Duma, Kadyrov is the one who will succeed Abramov. "Ramzan Kadyrov is a worthy candidate: He has been in power for four years; he has been the acting prime minister for almost half a year; he has authority; and has done well in the absence of the prime minister," Zavgayev told the ANN news agency.

Since the time his father was president, Kadyrov has commanded a force of thousands of fighters. The fighters are feared by ordinary Chechens and have been accused of kidnappings and torture.

Kadyrov became first deputy prime minister after his father, Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, was assassinated in a bomb blast in May 2004.

In October, Kadyrov will turn 30, the minimum age set by the Chechen constitution to be president. Expectations are high that President Vladimir Putin -- who often publicly displays a personal sympathy toward Kadyrov -- will nominate him as president then.

Political analysts said that Abramov's resignation was little more than a formality since Kadyrov has been running the government for months.

"The Chechenization of power in Chechnya is being formally completed," said Nikolai Silayev, a researcher at the Center for Caucasus Studies at the Moscow State Institute for International Relations.

Silayev said federal agencies had been handing over authority to loyal Chechen strongmen, who are also taking over the task of fighting separatists and religious extremists in Chechnya.

After Abramov leaves, "there will no longer be anyone in the Chechen establishment who even symbolically represents an alternative force to Kadyrov," Silayev said.

The local parliament elected last fall is loyal to Kadyrov, and the Cabinet is composed largely of members appointed by his father.

Since the Chechenization of power began in late 2002, the Kremlin has appointed prime ministers who were not ethnic Chechens and were apparently supposed to serve as Kremlin agents.

Such a scheme failed quickly because the Kremlin has tended to side with Chechen leaders in their conflicts with its own appointees, said Alexei Makarkin, a political analyst with the Center for Political Technologies.

The Chechen president is formally responsible for appointing the next prime minister.