Putin appointed his confidant and Cabinet chief of staff Dmitry Kozak as the head of a new federal commission that will try to get at the roots of terrorism by tackling poverty and poor education in the North Caucasus. Putin also named Kozak as his new envoy to the Southern Federal District, which includes Chechnya.

In addition, Putin ordered a crackdown on extremist organizations, which he called "a breeding ground for terrorism," and urged foreign leaders to cut off support to "the emissaries and lobbyists" of terrorists -- a clear reference to the United States and Britain, which have granted asylum to Chechens wanted by Moscow.

The measures will drastically alter the political landscape and further increase the Kremlin's control over political life.

Opposition leaders, who threaten to be further sidelined by the moves, warned that cutting off voters' voices will only make the country weaker.

"The organizers and perpetrators of the terror attack are aiming at the disintegration of the state, the breakup of Russia," Putin said in announcing the changes at a meeting attended by regional leaders and senior military, security and law enforcement officials.

"The system of state power needs to not only adjust to the Beslan tragedy, but also prevent a repeat of such a crisis," he said.

The way to do that, Putin said, is to strengthen the executive chain of command by giving the president the authority to nominate regional leaders. The nominees would then be confirmed by popularly elected legislative assemblies in Russia's 89 regions.

Putin said he will submit a bill on how regional leaders are elected to the Kremlin-controlled Duma this fall.

The move would end any of the independence still held by regional leaders, who were allowed to run their affairs pretty much as they pleased under President Boris Yeltsin, and have been a thorn in Putin's side since he took office in 2000. Their independence prompted Putin to carve the country into seven "super regions" early in his first term and appoint a presidential envoy to each, as well as to overhaul the Federation Council, which was once comprised of governors and is now filled with Kremlin-endorsed politicians and businessmen.

"The abolition of elections in Russian regions deals a blow to the foundations of Russian federalism and means the return to an extremely inefficient system of government," Sergei Mitrokhin, a senior official in the liberal Yabloko party, said in a statement.

Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin political consultant, said the initiative could help curb corruption in some regions.

"At the same time, it means ... a lowering of [regional leaders'] general political authority and a serious lowering of political pluralism," Markov told Ekho Moskvy radio.

Under the proposal, current regional leaders would serve out their terms and term limits would be scrapped -- meaning Mayor Yury Luzhkov, for example, could get another four years in 2007, when his third and final term ends.

Putin for the first time Monday publicly backed a plan by the Central Elections Commission for voters in Duma elections to only pick parties, not individual candidates. Half of the 450 deputies are now get elected based party votes, while the other deputies are elected individually in single-mandate districts.

Putin, who promised to submit a corresponding bill to the Duma this fall, said the move "will serve the interest of strengthening the political system."

The president has long sought a Duma with only a few political parties, citing the U.S. Congress with its two main parties as an example. He has suggested that previous Dumas failed to get much done because they had too many parties and factions.

Independent Duma Deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov lashed out at the move as a step that would weaken the country. "The next Duma will be simply virtual -- it will consist of just marionette party lists and won't enjoy any authority," he said on Ekho Moskvy radio.

"How is it possible the president doesn't understand that it won't strengthen the country? It will further tear apart the unity of the country and tear federal agencies' power away from the people?" he said. "Yes, the Kremlin's authority will be strengthened, but the country will be weakened."

Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said Putin's measures are the result of an absence of dialogue between those in power and society, political parties and the media.

In perhaps an effort to counter such complaints, Putin proposed creating a "public chamber" to provide public oversight of the government and, particularly, law enforcement and security agencies. He offered no details about the chamber.

Putin announced that Kozak will replace Vladimir Yakovlev as the presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District, one of the seven super regions. Kozak, a driving force behind Putin's administrative reform, is widely referred to as an adept political manager and organizer.

Putin said Kozak will also head the Special Federal Commission on the Northern Caucasus, a new group that will oversee anti-terror policy and work to get at some of the causes of terrorism, such as improving living and education standards in the region.

Putin said Yakovlev will head up a re-established Nationalities Ministry, which will be set up in the near future.

Putin, reiterating threats by senior military officials last week, said the military is ready to carry out preemptive strikes on terrorist bases anywhere in the world. "Terrorists need to be destroyed right in their den, and if the situation demands it, they should be taken abroad as well," he said.

Another preventive measure, Putin said, should be the outlawing of extremist organizations who "act under the cover of religious and other rhetoric, and in essence are a breeding ground for terrorism. They should be banned and their leaders prosecuted," he said.

He called foreign leaders to end political and financial support of "the emissaries and lobbyists" of terrorists -- continuing the tough rhetoric he started in a televised address on Sept. 4 in which he accused unspecified Western countries of trying to tear Russia apart.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov last week singled out the United States and Britain as two main irritants, saying they were not helping Russia fight terror in offering asylum to senior rebel official Ilyas Akhmadov and rebel envoy Akhmed Zakayev.

Putin told Monday's meeting that he has ordered the security services to boost their cooperation with foreign intelligence agencies.

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The Moscow Times, September 14, 2004