Tsagolov, 64, who is in charge of Russian relations with the North Caucasus, was on his way to Chkalovsky Airport, east of Moscow, when the gunman approached the car at 8:30 A.M. on Rublyovskoye Shosse and opened fire. After failing to hit his target, ministry spokesman Sergei Butin said, the assailant escaped. Tsagalov continued to the airport.
Butin suggested the assassination attempt might be linked to turmoil in the rebel republic of Chechnya, where President Dzhokhar Dudayev is facing pressure from Moscow-backed opposition forces. He said the Federal Counterintelligence Service and the Interior Ministry had both launched investigations. Dudayev has promised to launch a "terrorist war" over Russia's support for his opponents, Butin noted.
Tsagalov was on his way to a meeting with leaders of Kabardino-Balkariya, a region to the west of Chechnya.
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