THE SACKING of the Russian army's chief of staff and a full scale attack on the dismissed security chief, Gen Alexander Lebed, by right and left wing deputies in the State Duma provided the main fallout following President Yeltsin's dramatic signing of the Lebed dismissal decree before the nation's television viewers.
There was extra security on the streets of Moscow, with police augmented by OMON interior ministry personnel, in battle fatigues, but there was no sign of trouble, with observers suggesting that the increased security may have been put in place to confirm accusations that Gen Lebed had been plotting a coup.
In a rare display of solidarity pro and anti Yeltsin deputies in the Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, lacerated Gen Lebed's performance and on state controlled television stations the propaganda machine rolled into action with suggestions that he had been associated with extreme right wing organisations.
The chief of staff of the Russian army, Gen Mikhail Kolesnikov, who had been closely associated with Gen Lebed, became the latest victim of the current turmoil when he was shunted out of his post yesterday to be replaced by Gen Viktor Samsonov. He is the holder, as the Interfax news agency reported, of the "Order of the Red Banner for Service to the Fatherland of the second and third grades".
At a time when the armed forces are unsteady a letter in the Nezavisirnaya Gazeta newspaper, signed by officers, threatened action unless soldiers received their wages by October 25th, Gen Samsonov is regarded as a "safe pair of hands", a career officer who will stay away from politics.
On the political front another senior officer, Gen Boris Gromov, who is also a deputy in the Duma, took up the theme of unpaid wages in the army, which Gen Lebed had said would provide Russia with a shot autumn".
But Gen Gromov's voice was by no means typical of the mood of the Duma, which was dominated by barely concealed glee at Gen Lebed's dismissal.
The house's Communist speaker, Mr Gennady Seleznyov, went as far as to claim partial responsibility for the ousting of the security chief. The President and the Duma, which is Communist dominated, had acted in concert to sack Gen Lebed, he said.
This was, according to Mr Seleznyov, evidence that the country's political elite had consolidated against secret plots to create some special structures for an unknown purpose".
The leader of Russia's ultra right, Mr Vladimir Zhirinovsky added his voice to the condemnations of Gen Lebed, calling for soldiers and ex-soldiers to stay out of politics. Another extreme right wing deputy, the film director Mr Stanislav Govorukhing, said Vebed has fooled us on everything. He said one thing and did the opposite the next day. He made the president dance and led him to his heart attack and no one said a word."
Virtually the entire establishment, from the Communists and right wingers in the parliament to Mr Yeltsin, his prime minister Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, and the Kremlin Chief of Staff, Mr Anatoly Chubais, had been ranged against Gen Lebed in the previous 24 hours.
There have, however, been no signs as yet that the controversial general has lost support among the Russian public.
State controlled television and the independent NTV channel which is also run by a strongly pro-Yeltsin management, will do their best to diminish his support. Gen Lebed will, like all others who oppose the president, face a TV black out. It is likely that his response will be in the fond of rallies throughout the country.
As well as being chief of staff Gen Kolesnikov was first deputy to the Defence Minister, Mr Igor Rodionov.
Mr Yeltsin has promised to make Russia's overstaffed and undertrained conscript armed forces fully professional by 2000, although Mr Rodionov himself has said this is unrealistically fast.
Mr Rodionov has outlined overall plans to cut the armed forces from 1.5 million to 1.2 million men by 1998, but he said this would cost about £1.25 billion.
The Russian government reportedly owes more than 40 trillion roubles (£4.6 billion) in unpaid wages to soldiers and government workers across the nation.
