Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 14, 1993 TAG: 9312140138
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: From the Los Angeles Times and The Associated Press
DATELINE: MOSCOW LENGTH: Medium
As preliminary results from Sunday's nationwide parliamentary elections rolled in, flamboyant ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky appeared to be trouncing the sober reformers of President Boris Yeltsin's government. With 56 of Russia's 89 districts reporting, Zhirinovsky's party was leading with 24.3 percent of the vote to their 14 percent.
"The threat of fascism is looming tall and high," said human rights crusader Sergei Kovalev, one of the leaders of the pro-Yeltsin Russia's Choice bloc. "Zhirinovsky means war, blood and final death for Russia - if we allow him to do this. The people have been deceived, deceived by populist slogans, empty promises and cheap acting."
Kovalev and bloc chairman Yegor Gaidar proposed a broad new coalition to counter Zhirinovsky. Gaidar, the architect of Russia's painful economic reforms, also vowed to push ahead with his post-Communist transformation even faster so that widespread prosperity would arrive sooner and diminish support for the far right.
Zhirinovsky called Monday for a ban on foreign aid, a crackdown on crime and a halt to converting the Russian defense industry to civilian production. He also demanded an amnesty for the plotters of the August 1991 Soviet coup and the jailed leaders of the anti-Yeltsin uprising in October.
Zhirinovsky tried to play down his extremist image, saying he would cooperate with Yeltsin. "I am not a fascist," he told reporters.
President Clinton said he was not surprised by the strong showing of ultranationalists. He said it reflects "how difficult it is to convert from that old Communist system to a market economy."
Despite Zhirinovsky's sensational success, Yeltsin remained stubbornly neutral, issuing only a brief written statement congratulating Russians on their approval of the country's new constitution. Unofficial totals said 56 percent of voters favored the new charter.
Yeltsin could afford to sound satisfied. He got what he wanted: a new constitution that gave him extensive powers, and a reprieve until 1996 from presidential elections that he had promised for this June.
Nikolai Ryabov, chairman of the Central Election Commission, told reporters that because the constitution allows the incumbent to finish his term, "The question of the early election of the president automatically becomes irrelevant."
by CNB