Although it was critical of the war in Chechnya, Viktor Chernomyrdin and NDR played a central role in supporting Yeltsin in his 1996 bid for re-election as President of the Russian Federation. "To sum up why Our Home – Russia is for Yeltsin, I can say only one thing--because we are for reforms, for the constitution of Russia, for peace in Chechnya, for a normal life in Russia," Chernomyrdin told Itar-Tass news agency in 1996.