... Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests Congressional Research Service 9 fide opposition candidate on the ballot. Of the registered candidates running against Putin, ... CongressPrepared for Members and Committees of Congress Russian Political, Economic, and Security Issues and U.S. Interests Jim Nichol, Coordinator Specialist in Russian and Eurasian Affairs ... High levels of fighting continued for several more years and resulted in thousands of Russian and Chechen casualties and hundreds of thousands of displaced persons. In 2005, then-Chechen rebel...