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Saturday, June 6, 1998 Published at 15:14 GMT 16:14 UK
World: Europe
St Petersburg police chief sacked
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Russia's poorly paid police officers are often accused of corruption
The Russian Interior Ministry has sacked the police chief of the country's second city, St Petersburg, blaming alleged illegal behaviour by his force.
The police chief, Anatoly Ponidelko, was criticised for sacking more than 1,000 officials during an anti-corruption campaign and undermining police morale.
Mr Ponidelko was also accused of manipulating police statistics to suggest a big fall in local crime.
Television reports said the removal followed a 27% rise in public complaints about police behaviour in St Petersburg.
Mr Ponidelko described his dismissal as a political decision triggered by his fight against corruption in St Petersburg's law enforcement agencies.
"Somebody in St Petersburg does not want order enforced," he said in televised remarks after his sacking.
A meeting chaired by Russia's new Interior Minister Sergei Stepashin named Viktor Vlasov as Mr Ponidelko's successor.
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