Down But Not Out

Boris Yeltsin, the wily author of the autobiographical memoir Against the Grain, has dominated the Russian government for nearly a decade.

In defiance of his critics, opponents and predictions of his imminent doom, he has demonstrated an almost unshakable capacity to return from the brink of political extinction.

The recent economic chaos in Russia seemed to seal Yeltsin's fate, as an unlikely alliance of Communists and capitalist tycoons pressed him to step down. But Yeltsin refused to resign, and defiantly announced his intention to serve out his term, which ends in 2000.

POLITICS OF CHANGE

Yeltsin joined the Communist Party in 1961, amid the Soviet Union's tumultuous shift from Stalinism to Nikita Khruschev's more "enlightened" totalitarian rule.

By 1968, he had risen through the ranks to become the party chairman in his home region of Sverdlosk. It was not long before Yeltsin gained a reputation for bold reform.

Mikhail Gorbachev's revolutionary overhaul of the ailing Soviet system lured Yeltsin to Moscow in the mid-1980s. However, it was not long before Yeltsin became a vocal critic of the slow pace of Gorbachev's changes. In 1987, Yeltsin dramatically resigned his official posts before a shocked Communist Party Central Committee because of the slow pace of reform.

His stunning outburst earned him a firm rebuke from Gorbachev - the first of many apparent ends to his career - but protesters took to the streets in support, and Yeltsin's popularity grew dramatically.

In the next congressional election - a much more democratic vote, thanks to Gorbachev's reforms - Yeltsin ran on a populist platform and won.

In June 1991, Yeltsin became the first freely-elected president of the Russian Federation. Only two months later, an unsuccessful coup left Gorbachev powerless, and Yeltsin became the de facto ruler of Russia. Over the next few months, he presided over the breakup of the Soviet Union and set Russia on the long road to free market capitalism.

LURCHING FROM CRISIS TO CRISIS

As Russia's first post-Soviet leader, Yeltsin's popularity largely ebbed and flowed according to the perceived success of his economic reforms.

When parliament tried to temper his initiatives in 1993, he called for new parliamentary elections. When the parliament's supporters questioned Yeltsin's authority and turned the Russian White House into an armed encampment, Yeltsin unleashed the Russian army and crushed the political insurrection.

A second test for Yeltsin came in the form of a Muslim revolt in Russia's Chechnya region. Fearing the balkanization of Russia, Yeltsin again used force.

Chechnya's highly-motivated rebels withstood every bombardment that the once-mighty Russian army could muster. What should have been a quick rout dragged on for years, exacting a terrible cost in human lives, and pummeling the Russian army's morale.

Meanwhile, Yeltsin's conomic reforms were decimating Russia's working class. Millions of Russians longed for a return of the superpower Soviet era. Yeltsin's popularity tumbled.

In July 1996, Yeltsin faced a test that many thought he would fail. His Communist nemisis, Gennady Zyuganov, challenged him in a presidential election that seemed to catch the visibly depleted incumbent during a moment of remarkable unpopularity.

BEATING THE ODDS

With a crew of American "spin doctors" at his command, Yeltsin defied the conventional wisdom and defeated Zyuganov.

But his thin victory was followed by an even more difficult challenge.

Yeltsin's health collapsed in August 1996, only weeks after winning a second term as Russia's president.

He was confined to a hospital, and he underwent quintuple bypass surgery in November. Shortly thereafter, in January 1997, Yeltsin contracted pneumonia.

During his prolonged absence from the Kremlin, his political foes jockeyed for power and position under the assumption that the ailing president would never return.

But as usual, the predictions of Yeltsin's demise were wrong. Soon he was out of the hospital and firmly back in control of the Russian government.

ANOTHER ACT OF DEFIANCE?

Throughout much of 1998, the single most important issue in Russia has been the economic difficulties stemming from a collapse of the ruble.

The Russian government has found itself torn between demands made by international investors and the International Monetary Fund on one hand, and the economic difficulties faced by ordinary Russians on the other hand.

Meanwhile, Yeltsin has shuffled his government several times in the last few months. In doing so, he seriously weakened his power base.

Nevertheless, Yeltsin's resilience is legendary, and he is once again stubbornly fighting to cling to power.

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