The commander of the Kantamirsky Tank Division -- the unit that came to President Boris Yeltsin's aid in October 1993 to shell the disbanded parliament out of the White House -- submitted his resignation at the weekend to the Moscow Military District.
Polyakov, who will retain his rank of major general, was not available for comment. An official spokesman from the district command confirmed Monday that the general linked his action to the revelation last week that elite members of his unit were fighting in Chechnya behind his back.
Russia's alleged involvement in attacks against Chechen leader Dzhokhar Dudayev's rebel government became more apparent over the weekend when two of the 21 Russian soldiers held captive in Grozny were released and returned to Moscow.
Lieutenant Dmitry Volfovich and Private Alexander Danilov, both from the Kantamirsky Tank Division 71 kilometers outside Moscow, told reporters after their release Saturday they had been recruited by the Federal Counterintelligence Service to fight in Grozny. They both signed contracts paying 6 million rubles ($1,875) for the Chechnya operation, and 150 million rubles was guaranteed to their relatives in the event of their death.
While Moscow, which has supplied the opposition with military equipment, has made no secret of its anti-Dudayev stance, the Defense Ministry continued to deny any official intervention in Chechnya on Monday, saying that Russians fighting there are mercenaries.
However, a parliamentary delegation from the State Duma that traveled to Grozny last Thursday to seek the release of the hostages reported that Russian forces were responsible for the Grozny bombings, calling the Kremlin's activities "a policy of attempted armed intervention."
The delegation, headed by Duma Defense Committee chairman Sergei Yushenkov, sent a telegram to Yeltsin on Friday asking him to exert influence to stop the bombing in Chechnya. The delegation negotiated the release of Volfovich and Danilov in a "goodwill gesture" by Dudayev.
In the meantime, the Russian military continues to strengthen its presence on the borders of Chechnya. Yeltsin has issued an ultimatum for the warring parties in the breakaway republic to put down their arms by Dec. 15 or face military intervention.
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