A recent poll by the Russian Center for Public Opinion suggests that close to half of all Russians would support negotiations with the Chechen leadership.

The contradictory accounts also raised the question of infighting within the Chechen leadership.

Mr. Maskhadov's envoy to Europe, Akhmad Zakayev, said the Chechen leadership would not formally enter the talks until they produced some results.

Rather than wait for Russian troops to storm Grozny, as happened in 1994, he said the Chechen leadership had decided to resist at the borders.

They failed to take out the Chechen leadership beforehand.

The Chechen leadership is determined to prevent Moscow from annexing the northern area and setting up its own administration, he said.

Elections to pick a new Chechen leadership, however, will not be held until the end of this year or the beginning of 2001.

There has been no consideration of the future role of the rival Chechen leadership installed by Moscow.

They didn't know the answer to basic questions like these: Who is in the Chechen political-military leadership?

Some have blamed the Chechen leadership, which she targeted in her hard-hitting articles about people disappearing and being tortured in Chechnya.