MOSCOW — Coming from a challenger for the presidency, the twin allegations were sensational: Russian President Vladimir V. Putin hid the truth about a theater hostage crisis in which 129 captives died, and authorities were somehow involved in apartment bombings blamed on Chechen rebels.
Irina Khakamada -- who aims to be the standard-bearer for Western-oriented, pro-democracy voters in March elections -- made the charges in an open letter last week released at a news conference. Responding to questions, she backed away a bit, but only a bit -- a sign that however enormous the popular president's lead, Khakamada intends to wage a tough campaign.
"Khakamada can change the political situation in Russia only if she stakes it all and plays big," said Yulia Latynina, an analyst with Echo of Moscow radio. "She can raise extremely uncomfortable questions and talk about extremely flammable issues."
Many observers saw Khakamada's late-December entry into the race as politically beneficial to Putin -- some said it was orchestrated by him -- because it provided him with a respectable rival and thereby kept up the appearance that Russia is a genuine democracy. Before she declared her candidacy, it had seemed that Putin might romp to victory without any real opponent, boosting the view that he was drifting toward authoritarianism.
Although some may still see Khakamada as a Putin pawn, her allegations have defused much of that criticism.
The implication of Khakamada's accusations was that in both the 2002 theater crisis and the 1999 apartment bombings, authorities backing Putin may have wanted to see Russian citizens die and Chechen fighters painted as terrorists to boost support for military action in Chechnya and enhance the get-tough leader's popularity.
Khakamada appeared to be simultaneously bidding for attention, pressing a serious demand for an impartial investigation of the incidents, asserting independence from the Kremlin and trying to stay out of legal trouble. Russia's two key Western-style democratic parties were virtually wiped out of parliament in December elections, and Khakamada -- who leads one of them -- faces a daunting task in trying to pick up the pieces.
"I am appealing to people and tell them, 'Don't be afraid, don't be silent, because everything is not lost yet,' " she said at the news conference.
