Russian Presidential Hopeful to Discuss Relations With U.S.

Russian Presidential Hopeful to Discuss Relations With U.S.
RICE NEWS OFFICE
March 12, 1998

Alexander Lebed, one of Russia’s top military leaders and founder of the Russian
Popular Republican Party, will discuss the political situation in Russia and
the future of U.S.-Russian relations at Rice’s James A. Baker III Institute
for Public Policy on Monday, March 16.

The program will start at 6:30 p.m. in the Commons of Baker Hall. Faculty,
staff and students can obtain tickets for the event by calling the Baker Institute
office at (713) 527-8101, extension 4683.

Lebed is considered a candidate to succeed Russian President Boris Yeltsin,
who is expected to step down from office in the year 2000. According to Russian
news reports, Lebed will seek the governor’s post in Krasnoyarsk, a key industrial
region in central Siberia.

"The importance of United States-Russian relations is being underscored
by the Baker Institute," said Baker Institute Director Edward Djerejian.
"Former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev was a keynote speaker
at our annual conference last fall, and we have been participating in high-level,
substantive exchanges with Russian political and civilian leaders in a recent
program in Moscow along with Harvard University representatives."

Also, Lebed’s presentation will be followed later this month by an address
on the nature of the Russian transformation by Jim Billington, librarian of
Congress.

"The conduct and substance of our relations with Russia are key factors
in global peace and security, and we are pleased to provide the institute as
a forum to discuss the future of this critical relationship," Djerejian
said.

Among Lebed’s notable achievements as a military leader was ending the conflict
in Moldavia and mediating a peace agreement between the warring Russian separatists
and the new Moldavian government. He resigned his military post in May 1995
to pursue a political career.

In 1996, Yeltsin appointed him to be secretary of Russia’s National Security
Council and to be his top national security adviser. He was instrumental in
ending Russia’s war against Chechnya.

After his departure from the government, Lebed established a political party
in Russia and began his campaign for the presidency.

For related information please visit the following Web site:
James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy: http://www.riceinfo.rice.edu/projects/baker/index.html