New president of Russia's Chechnya sworn in

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, October 20, 2003

New president of Russia's Chechnya sworn in

Akhmad Kadyrov, who won a landslide victory in a presidential election in Russia's war-torn republic of Chechnya on Oct. 5, was officially sworn in on Sunday.

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Akhmad Kadyrov, who won a landslide victory in a presidential election in Russia's war-torn republic of Chechnya on Oct. 5, was officially sworn in on Sunday.

The inauguration ceremony was held in Chechnya's second largestcity of Gudermes under tight security, Russian news agencies reported.

According to Chechen Election Commission, Kadyrov gained 80.84 percent of the vote.

The Kremlin's chief of staff Alexander Voloshin, representatives from other Russian regions, including Chechnya's neighbors, Moscow and St. Petersburg, attended the ceremony.

The pro-Moscow Kadyrov was named by the Kremlin head of the civil administration of the republic in 2000. He became acting president after a March referendum, in which Chechens approved a Kremlin-backed constitution that cemented the region's status as part of Russia.

Prior to the ceremony, Kadyrov confirmed that after the ceremony he will sign the first decree on establishing a commission to probe into the crimes perpetrated against the Chechen people since 1991.

"This is very important for me," he was quoted as saying by Interfax in his native village of Tsentoroi before leaving for Gudermes.

Asked if he will run for a second term, he said: "I am never sure I will come back safe when I leave my house in the morning."

"My main ambition is to restore peace in Chechnya, give the Chechen people jobs and confidence in the future," he noted, adding that he does not think about the seeking of a second term now, for "if the people decide they need me, they will show this later."

On Saturday, he dismissed the cabinet and appointed Anatoly Popov as prime minister.

Russian troops were pulled out of the restive republic in 1996 after a discreditable defeat in war with Chechen separatists, but were sent back to the lawless region in September 1999 following attacks by Chechen-based fighters in a neighboring region and a series of deadly bombings blamed on the rebels.

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