Chechen voters doubt elections will bring peace

RESIDENTS of Chechnya, a southern Russian republic plagued by persistent violence, corruption and squalor, began voting yesterday in the latest in a series of elections that are part of efforts to bring stability and peace.

Some 350 candidates were running for 58 of the 61 seats in the two-chamber regional legislature.

Despite continuing crime, Islamic extremism and skirmishes between Russian troops and separatist rebels, Kremlin officials contend the oil-rich Muslim region is on the road to recovery.