ABSTRACT
In the wake of the decisive events of 1993 in both Chechnya and Russia, the respective leaderships implemented determined measures to consolidate their political power at the expense of their opponents. However, any analogy between the two leaders’ actions rapidly dissolved, as each president embraced varying degrees of authoritarianism, which precipitated dissimilar outcomes. Despite Yeltsin’s new Constitution granting him heightened powers, the presence of the Russian parliament symbolised a democratic counterbalance to the worst of the president’s authoritarian excesses. Although the powers of the legislature had been severely curtailed by the 1993 Constitution, it still possessed a mandate from the electorate to oppose Yeltsin and express dissatisfaction with his administration.1
