Boris Yeltsin appointed Alexander Lebed to head Russia's powerful Security Council Tuesday and won the former general's crucial endorsement before the final round of the country's presidential election.
The president also removed Defense Minister Pavel Grachev, a longtime rival of Lebed's who has been repeatedly criticized for his handling of Russian military affairs, including the war in Chechnya.Yeltsin needs Lebed's support to win a runoff election in about two weeks. Yeltsin won 35 percent of the vote in the first round of balloting Sunday. Lebed placed a strong third with 15 percent, and if he can bring his supporters with him, he could put the president over the 50 percent mark.
Communist leader Gennady Zyu-ga-nov - Yeltsin's lone remaining challenger - had also courted Lebed and warned that he would suffer if he backed Yeltsin. But Lebed, a former paratrooper and Afghan war hero, turned him down.
At a news conference Tuesday, Lebed said communism might not be a bad idea, but it only had brought suffering to Russia. "Let them implement communism in some other place," he said.
Diving right into his new duties, Lebed also visited army headquarters and started looking for a new defense minister. He accused Defense Ministry officials of trying to put pressure on Yeltsin or even organizing a coup, but said various army units assured him of their "complete loyalty." He gave no other details.
Following a brief meeting in the Kremlin, Lebed, dressed in a dark suit and crisp white shirt, stood ramrod straight next to Yeltsin in a gilded reception room and issued the direct endorsement the president had been seeking.
In his booming voice, Lebed said the agreement "would serve not only as the unification of politicians, but of the forces serving them."
"Eleven million voters believed I could guarantee the security of citizens. I am an officer and must be worthy of their trust," Lebed said.
The Security Council oversees Russia's military, police and security forces, and Yeltsin was expected to broaden Lebed's job to give him direct responsibility for military reform and fighting crime and corruption, the Interfax news agency said.
Some politicians warned that Lebed could easily go the way of former Vice President Alexander Rutskoi, another much decorated officer who was put in charge of fighting crime, then demoted to agriculture and eventually jailed.
But millions of Russians admire Lebed for his tough, unflinching calls to crack down on Russia's endemic crime and corruption, a top concern of many voters.
Lebed is a fervent nationalist who has repeatedly called for rebuilding the demoralized Russian military as a first step to restore Russia as a great power.
He was bitterly critical of Grachev for impeding military reform, allowing corruption in the army and the army's miserable performance in Chechnya - a war Lebed opposed from the start.
Yeltsin made a clear pitch to Russians who voted for Lebed, saying the appointment unified "two political programs" and pledging to address military reform and corruption.
Yeltsin said Tuesday he also wants to meet with liberal economist Grigory Yavlinsky, who came fourth in the first round of voting, to seek his support. A close ally of the economist said his Yabloko faction would likely support Yeltsin.
Zyuganov looked grim Tuesday after he learned the news of Lebed's appointment, and other Communist leaders dismissed the importance of it.
"Lebed has no party behind him, no mass organization, just a name," said Gennady Seleznyov, the Communist speaker of parliament.
But Lebed said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that he was sure his voters would heed his call to back Yeltsin.
"I am choosing the new idea. I'm deeply convinced that the majority of voters who understand me will make their choice. You can't go very far with old ideas," Lebed said.
Grachev submitted his resignation to Yeltsin on Monday after being told Lebed would be named head of the Security Council. Russian Television reported that Grachev refused to work under Lebed.
Grachev was a Yeltsin close ally, but he was under constant attack for his poor performance and had become a growing liability. Yeltsin named Gen. Mikhail Kolesnikov, chief of the general staff, as acting defense minister, and Lebed began consultations Tuesday on a permanent replacement.