APPARAT
Shakhrai bounced from the court
Longtime Yel'tsin loyalist Sergei Shakhrai was unceremoniously dumped as the presidential representative to the Constitutional Court on 29 June. (Interfax, 1352 GMT, 29 Jun 98; FBIS-SOV-98-180) Returning to the position is Mikhail Mityukov, who held the post before Shakhrai.

The dismissal was announced without comment, but likely explanations focus on the court's upcoming consideration of the Kremlin's petition for interpretation of Constitutional Article 81 Section 3, which may pave the way for a third Yel'tsin presidency. Some analysts believe that Shakhrai's recent support for presidential hopeful Yuri Luzhkov diminished his potential effectiveness as the advocate for Yel'tsin before the court.

Shakhrai himself believes that it was the speech he gave to his PRES party convention the weekend before his dismissal that prompted the move. During the speech, Shakhrai commented on the impending presidential impeachment vote in the Duma, claiming that he believed there would be sufficient votes to bring it up for debate. It was this acknowledgment of reality that Shakhrai feels stirred up unwarranted animosity in the Kremlin. "A timely warning should be accepted with gratitude, not anger," he stated. (Interfax, 1438 GMT, 29 Jun 98; FBIS-SOV-98-180)