The killing of Aslan Maskhadov, the Chechen rebel leader and president of the republic’s underground separatist government, set off a debate in Russia on Wednesday as to whether the death was a step forward or back. On the surface, the killing was a rare public success in Russia’s Chechnya policy, in which capturing or killing prominent rebel leaders and terrorists has been a highly publicized goal. Politicians loyal to the Kremlin hailed it as a demoralizing loss to the separatists that would give Russia’s security forces fresh momentum in the war.Full Story