Mr. Yeltsin's mishandling of the Chechen rebellion is sure to strengthen those who want to end American assistance and return to a strategy of containing rather than befriending Russia.

Chechen rebellion would characteristically flare up whenever the Russian state faced a period of internal uncertainty.

It brought observant Turkish Muslims into a public alliance with supporters of the Chechen rebellion, a development that could affect not only Turkish-Russian relations but also domestic politics in Turkey.

Alongside the Chechen rebellion of the 1990s came a resurgence in Chechen national identity, of which music is a major part.

Putin suppressed the Chechen rebellion violently, but sporadic violence still occurs in the Northern Caucasus.

But the disarray in Russia resulting from the Chechen rebellion could not be eased by warnings or advice from Washington, Mr. Christopher said.

But it gained immensely from them, stanching the flow of heroin from Afghanistan and cutting the infiltration routes of Islamic militants who have been part of the Chechen rebellion.

Georgia has sought to remain neutral in Russia's war in Chechnya, and Mr. Shevardnadze refuses to brand the Chechen rebellion as a terrorist movement, much to Moscow's displeasure.

American policy here continues to differentiate between the terrorist forces that have grafted themselves onto the Chechen rebellion and the larger Chechen struggle for independence from Moscow.

Before President Clinton could answer, Mr. Yeltsin broke in to say that he himself was a hostage to the crisis, and that "my friend Bill" supported Russian action to suppress the Chechen rebellion.