Article Text (Fragment)

...no connection at all. Shchekochikhin? to kill. — in Russia contact with him Achimez Gochiyayev? Honestly, I will say and. Version of such a Litvinenko cannot be, for to inform the public regarding who in Moscow, many— representative of the public commission for the investigation of the terrorist attacks, protector of rights Sergei Adamovich Kovalyov would not give preference to any version. All have the right to exist. For me personally, the version of the so-called Chechen trace in the attacks causes bewilderment. It is hard to imagine that it was Chechen from the side, bandits have their own logic. But the fact that Alexander Litvinenko and Felshtinsky write that the houses were blown up by the FSB causes serious doubts in me. The media-errand boy helps the terrorists by the fact that having committed his barbarous act, he seeks to disappear, while the colonel goes to work. And it is quite difficult for me to imagine an active officer who would go for such a thing without having a written order.

— In general, is it realistic to establish who is guilty of these terrorist attacks?

— We are conducting meticulous work, and it will culminate in an extensive and conscientious report. But as for whether it will end with the crime being solved, I have my doubts. For this, our commission does not have the powerful capabilities of investigative bodies. Who blew up the houses, we do not know. But we know very well who used these explosions and for what. If there had been no hostage-taking, no march on Dagestan, and no bombings in Moscow, then there would have been no approval for the second war in Chechnya. And if the war had not been approved, FSB Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin would not have become president. But the question "Who benefits?" is not proof of guilt. All versions must be checked. And I hope that the authorities will facilitate this work. Because in fact, it is the authorities who should be interested in investigating these crimes, for the suspicions falling on the bandits are nothing compared to the suspicions falling on the authorities.

OLGA ALLENOVA