Yeltsin Names Security Official

President Boris Yeltsin took the advice of his increasingly influential national security chief Alexander Lebed on Monday, appointing Lebed’s choice for deputy security chief.

Nikolai Mikhailov, who has led a private defense firm, was named second-in-command of the Security Council, the presidential press service said.

Mikhailov’s 4-year-old corporation, Vympel, develops and produces anti-ballistic missile systems and missile warning systems, the ITAR-Tass news agency said.

Lebed, who finished third in presidential voting earlier this year, agreed to support Yeltsin in the runoff election in return for the top job at the Security Council. Since then, he has added gradually to his power base.