"Russia will come to your aid"
All Russian prime ministers promised to help Dagestan deal with its internal problems. Some with money, some with weapons.
Viktor Chernomyrdin: “The Russian government will, to the extent possible, support the economy of Dagestan, which plays a stabilizing role in the North Caucasus.”
Sergei Kiriyenko: “Dagestan has been and will remain part of Russia. The government of the Russian Federation, despite the very difficult situation in the country as a whole, has paid and will pay special attention and support to Dagestan and the region.”
Evgeny Primakov: “The North Caucasus is of particular importance for the territorial integrity of Russia, its security, solidarity in society. This is the stronghold of Russian statehood.”
Sergei Stepashin: “The President of Russia and the government of the country have the determination to reverse the negative situation in the economy of Dagestan. We are not going to fight with anyone. We have fought. Stop maintaining the situation in the republic with the help of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and internal troops. 90% of the population of Dagestan is not working now. We must provide young people with jobs, otherwise they will go to the mountains to Khattab or other criminal groups. It is necessary to work together, otherwise solutions to a number of socio-economic problems, the development programs of the republic may remain on paper. The authorities are obliged to put an end to the theft of national wealth in Dagestan. The level of corruption here is inversely proportional to the decline in production. Just look at the chairman of the Pension Fund who fled to the mountains and stole more than 70 billion non-denominated rubles. And then we wonder where Wahhabism comes from in Dagestan, although this is not Wahhabism at all, but an attempt by some to escape from trouble. others to take advantage of this situation."
Vladimir Putin: “The bandits must know that we will use everything that is needed to fight them. At the government meeting, decisions were made to support Dagestan. Dagestan was, is and will be an integral part of the Russian Federation. Russia will always come to your aid. This will be expressed not only in military strength, but also in economic support."

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 156 dated 08/31/1999, p. 3