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Ruslan Khasbulatov, the former speaker of the Russian parliament, sensing growing support in his native republic, called over the weekend for a mass rally to be held next Thursday in the capital Grozny against Chechen president Dzhokhar Dudayev.
Khasbulatov spoke to a crowd of 15,000 people in the town of Shali on Saturday, and called for the removal of Dudayev by peaceful means, according to the Itar-Tass news agency.
Khasbulatov, who has so far kept his campaign against Dudayev outside the capital, called for a "mass rally" in Grozny on Thursday if the president had not stepped down by then.
On Sunday thousands gathered in the central square of the Chechen capital Grozny in support of Dudayev, who led the republic's break from Moscow almost three years ago, news agencies reported.
Khasbulatov returned to his native Chechnya from Moscow two weeks ago. Although he says he has no ambitions to take power, he has established himself as the most powerful rival to Dudayev. He has won the support of Ruslan Labazanov, the republic's most famous gang leader who has sworn blood revenge against Dudayev.
"We welcome Khasbulatov's peace mission and we will take it to the end," Labazanov said at Saturday's rally, according to Itar-Tass.
Labazanov's men escorted Khasbulatov to the rally, Interfax reported.
The agency reported that the ex-speaker claimed the support of seven armed groups on Saturday for what he calls his "peace mission" in Chechnya.
However Khasbulatov told Interfax that he was not actively cooperating with Umar Avturkhanov, the leader of the Moscow-backed opposition group, the Provisional Council.
"Nothing much is working out because they have taken Avturkhanov too much under their wing and frightened him with Khasbulatov," Khasbulatov said, adding "He is also carrying out Moscow's instructions too closely."
Despite the threats both sides have hurled at each other since the crisis broke at the beginning of August Chechnya has been relatively peaceful.
Itar-Tass reported Monday that one of its correspondents had been kidnapped but later said that he had been found safe and well. Tass said an anonymous caller demanded a ransom of 2 billion rubles for the release of correspondent, Mikhail Shevtsov, accusing him of purveying Russian propaganda from Chechnya.
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