Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, December 15, 1993 TAG: 9312150194
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MOSCOW LENGTH: Medium
With 80 of the 89 election districts reporting Tuesday, the extreme nationalist Liberal Democratic Party had won nearly 24 percent of the votes in Sunday's election.
The main pro-Yeltsin group, Russia's Choice, was in second place with nearly 14 percent and the Communist Party had nearly 13 percent.
Senior Clinton administration officials said a conservative, nationalist tilt in Russia's new parliament could force a rethinking of U.S. aid.
That sober assessment came as Vice President Al Gore arrived in Moscow to help set the stage for next month's Moscow summit between Yeltsin and President Clinton.
The U.S. officials lamented that internal political pressures might limit Yeltsin's ability to embrace more pro-Western reforms and resolve a dispute with other former Soviet republics over compensation if they dismantle nuclear weapons.
Gore retreated from his earlier optimism that pro-Yeltsin reformers would eke out a "working majority" in parliament. Once in Moscow, he refused to discuss the parliamentary elections.
Savoring victory, Liberal Democratic leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky said his party expected to play a major role in forming a new government and he was ready to form an alliance with any of the parties.
It appeared the Liberal Democrats would get at least 50 seats, Russia's Choice 30 and the Communists 25 in the parliament, or Duma.
In Washington, White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers said President Clinton had not ruled out meeting with Zhirinovsky during his Jan. 12-15 visit to Russia, even though "many of the things he says are anathema to the values that we hold."
Zhirinovsky seemed confident he would be the kingmaker. He wasted no time demanding that Yeltsin fire top reformers, including Economics Minister Yegor Gaidar and Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev, who were the target of hard-line attacks in the last parliament. Gaidar leads Russia's Choice.
Zhirinovsky said he will press for deep changes in Yeltsin's pro-market policies when the Duma meets and hopes he can "declare these dark times are over in Russia, that all these reforms that greatly hurt our people are over."
The Liberal Democrats plan to seek new subsidies for industry, increased welfare spending and state-subsidized consumer imports.
Zhirinovsky was unlikely to become prime minister or get a big government post because Yeltsin nominates Cabinet members, but at a packed news conference, he referred to "my ministers" and "our government" and said he expects to become Russia's next president.
Zhirinovsky also declared that Jews themselves had provoked anti-Semitism in Russia. After heatedly and repeatedly denying that he or his party is anti-Semitic, he said impatiently:
"At a certain stage of development a wave of anti-Semitism arises. But we don't want this to happen. This is provoked by those who consider themselves part of the Jewish nation. We don't need provocations like this."
The Communist Party, a potential Zhirinovsky ally, also took the offensive against Yeltsin's reform program.
Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said his party would seek a no-confidence vote in Yeltsin's government if the market reforms continued.
In Washington, Clinton sought to play down the significance of the strong support for Yeltsin foes, saying, "I think when people are having a tough time . . . they often look to simple answers. That's not unique to Russia."
He added with a laugh, "I don't think any of us expect to be giving up Alaska any time soon." The quip was a reference to Zhirinovsky's desire to wrest Alaska from the U.S.
Ukraine and the Baltic states, which won independence with the collapse of the Soviet Union, nervously followed the election.
Zhirinovsky has threatened to force the former Soviet republics into a new Russian empire and stop their substantial financial subsidies.
"There is fear; there is a fear of direct revenge and this cannot be hidden," said President Leonid Kravchuk of Ukraine. "I do hope these events are only a temporary setback for the development of democracy in Russia."
The Washington Post contributed information to this report.
by CNB