GROZNY. Aug 16 (Interfax-AVN) - By staging the latest series of terrorist attacks and committing other crimes across Chechnya, guerillas tried to show that they still have sufficient capabilities to destabilize the situation in the republic, Chechen Prime Minister Sergei Abramov said.

"Illegal armed groups have repeatedly threatened that this summer will be 'hot'. Tough measures that have been taken by federal forces and law enforcement agencies of the Chechen republic have helped eliminate the most odious leaders, eliminate and detain a large number of militants and thus stop them from trying to influence the situation," Abramov told Interfax by phone on Monday.

The prime minister offered his comment in response to Monday's terrorist attack in downtown Grozny and the latest events in Roshni-Chu and Vedeno.

The situation in Chechnya remains stable, Abramov said. "There is no panic among the local population," he said.

"These terrorist attacks and robbery-related assaults also suggest that illegal armed groups continue to receive plenty of money. Militants may receive some of these funds from the shadow sector of the economy," he said.

"Our information suggests that shadow wine and vodka producers alone have avoided paying more than 600 million rubles ($21.11 million) in taxes. Shadow enterprises in other sectors are also operating with certain amounts," Abramov said.

Chechen First Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov was appointed to oversee the republic's crackdown on the shadow sector of the economy at a Monday government session, he said.