RUSSIAN troops in trucks, armoured vehicles and jeeps began to pull out of Grozny officially and, in one dramatic case, unofficially.
In contrast to the roaring engines and billowing exhaust fumes in the Chechen capital silence still reigned at the hunting lodge at Zavidovo, north of Moscow, where President Yeltsin has been holed up and avoiding contact with his security chief, Gen Alexander Lebed.
However, Mr Yeltsin did speak yesterday to the German Chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl, and arranged a meeting with him on September 7th. This indicates that he was not too ill to speak to Gen Lebed, and that his refusal to contact him was a snub.
Taking the initiative in the absence of an active president Gen Lebed warned that further delays in talks with the Chechen rebels on a political settlement could disrupt the successful military agreement. He said he would go to Chechnya again at the weekend with the aim of finalising the political issues on his own.
Most Russian newspapers now believe that Mr Yeltsin is simply avoiding the issue until he sees how the Chechen settlement will work.
If it is unsuccessful, they say, he will put the blame on Gen Lebed, and if it is successful he will attempt to take the credit for himself. Why he should want to do this, immediately after an election which has given him an extra four years in power, is unclear.
It seems more likely that inertia, accompanied by ill health, has led him to accept the current ceasefire and withdrawal, and put decisions regarding a political settlement on the long finger.
Peace without a settlement may he enough for Mr Yeltsin. But this attitude could lead to problems. For the Chechen rebels are already beginning to set up their own unofficial government structures in Grozny and the pro Moscow Chechen government is making warlike noises.
Pro Moscow Chechens are in a minority in the region as a whole, but are strong in some geographical areas.
While the official Russian withdrawal of 2,000 troops from Grozny proceeded calmly, one incident illustrated the extent of the chaos in the armed forces.
A unit of Interior Ministry troops guarding the Chief Allied Staff Directorate in Grozny did not wait for its demobilisation orders, got in its jeeps and high tailed it out of town. It left behind a large munitions store, and a sophisticated communications system including computers and mobile and satellite facilities.
The number of bodies of Russian soldiers bound in Grozny since the recent escalation in the conflict began has risen to over 500, with nearly 1,500 wounded or missing. Military sources say that the final figure will be higher.
No casualty figures for Chechen rebels and local civilians are available. But some of the 200,000 refugees who left Grozny during the recent outbreak of violence began to trickle back yesterday over a hastily constructed bridge across the river Sunzha.
Chechen rebels are due to pull out simultaneously with the Russian troops. But military sources, according to the Interfax news agency, have claimed that 4,500 rebels are now in the capital, the original force having been augmented by arrivals from southern districts.
Russian soldiers interviewed on departure expressed a mixture of relief at being sent home and humiliation at what they consider to be a defeat at Chechen hands.
