Russian army says to cut size of its Chechen force

By James Kilner

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Ministry of Defense plans to cut the size of its Chechen battalions, a general has said, two months after a stand-off with soldiers loyal to Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader.

Groomed by Russian leader Vladimir Putin to be Chechnya's president, Ramzan Kadyrov called for the Ministry of Defense to disband the battle-hardened Vostok battalion and sack its commander after the roadside stand off in April.

The Vostok battalion is commanded by Sulim Yamadayev -- one of the few Chechens powerful enough to rival the 31-year-old Kadyrov. Reducing its strength would bolster Kadyrov's power.

Russian General Vladimir Shamanov told the military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda the Ministry of Defense had decided to cut the number of soldiers in the Vostok and Zapad battalions after Kadyrov accused them of murder and kidnapping.

"As a result the defense minister has decided to re-examine the personnel of both units, to reduce their numbers by 30 percent and not to send them any more conscripts to them," he said in an interview on the newspaper's Web site www.redstar.ru.

Another newspaper, Kommersant, said each battalion contained about 600 men.

Shamanov is head of training for the Russian military and had previously said the Vostok battalion would not be disbanded.

He declined to say whether Yamadayev was still commander of the Vostok battalion.