俄罗斯第一位总统叶利钦日前出面对俄现任总统普京提出的选举制度改革方案表示批评。叶利钦在接受《莫斯科新闻》独家采访时表达了他的立场。他这一次一反常态，发表声明称，尽管俄罗斯必须打击恐怖主义威胁，但是克里姆林宫应该保持克制，以防再造的宪法体制遭到破坏。

Former Russian president Boris Yeltsin has made a veiled criticism of his successor's decision to increase his powers after the Beslan tragedy.

Mr Yeltsin said that the rolling back of democratic rights in Russia would be tantamount to victory for terrorists.

President Vladimir Putin on Monday announced plans to abolish direct elections for regional governors and change voting rules for parliament.

The proposals may need constitutional change, but Mr Putin denies such plans.

However, he said the changes were important to bolster central authority after a series of terrorist acts in recent weeks culminating in the school siege in which more than 300 people died.

Meanwhile Boris Gryzlov, speaker of the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, said the chamber would discuss lifting a moratorium on the death penalty for cases of terrorism introduced by Mr Yeltsin.

"This question has been raised by many members of society, citizens and deputies," he said, adding that he supported the moratorium. "The situation compels us to return again and again to this topic."

In an interview to be published in Friday's edition of the newspaper Moscow News, Mr Yeltsin said Russia should not move away from the spirit or the letter of the constitution he introduced in 1993, and which was approved in a national referendum .

"The stifling of freedoms and the rolling back of democratic rights will mean, among other things, that the terrorists will have won," he said.

The 73-year-old former president said he expected Russia "to stand shoulder to shoulder with other civilised nations" in the fight against terrorism.