Pittsburgh Post-Gazette from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania • Page 9

A-9 eltsin survives impeachment PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE SUNDAY, MAY 16, 1999 I RUSSIA FROM PAGE A-1 I r' 1 r'v' 1 I I -I f- 7v; '1 impeached on at least one charge, abusing his presidential authority by launching the war in Chechnya. But that charge was 17 votes short of a 300-vote, two-thirds majority, and the others were defeated by even larger margins of up to 62 votes. It was a bitter setback for the Communists, who had worked nearly a year to bring the case against Yeltsin to the Duma floor. They sat dejected as the votes were read, and their emotions turned to anger after Duma members spilled out of the chamber, mingling with hundreds of journalists and bystanders. Communist staff members chanted "shame, shame, shame" at those who supported Yeltsin, and at least two fist-fights broke out in the roiling crowd.

Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov said the country had been "betrayed" and other members of his faction charged that the president's forces used underhanded and illegal tactics, including bribes from $10,000 to $30,000, but offered no proof to substantiate their claims. "That was a game very tough and very unscrupulous," charged Communist lawmaker Lukyanov. Some Duma members, however, said the outcome was less a lobbying triumph than a sign of lawmakers' weariness over Russia's endless political turmoil. "Many Duma members asked themselves what would happen if impeachment succeeds," said Sergei Yushenkov, an independent. "That had a very sobering impact." Yushenkov said he "refused take part in this farce" and scores of other members apparently had similar sentiments.

Of the estimated 435 members eligible to vote there are a number of vacancies only 348 participated, contributing to the Commu nists' allegations that the Kremlin persuaded lawmakers to stay away. The Duma's chief vote counter also told lawmakers that 45 members ruined their ballots. A two-thirds majority on any of the counts would have advanced the process through two courts and the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament. A two-thirds vote in the upper house would have removed Yeltsin from office, but most analysts expected him to survive, even if the house voted to impeach. Yeltsin was charged with abuse of power during his nearly eight years as Russia's only post-Soviet president.

The outcome on the specific charges: launching the war on Chechnya (283 votes for impeachment, 43 against); using force against parliament in 1993 (263 for, 60 against); destroying the armed forces (241 for, 77 against); causing genocide by throwing millions into poverty (238 for, 88 against); and destroying the Soviet Union (239 for, 73 against). The Chechen war charge generated the greatest suspense. It was the one issue that united most members of the liberal Yabloko parry with Communists, who voted unanimously for all five counts. "Thousands of young soldiers virtually kids were killed or injured," said moderate Yabloko party leader Grigory Yavlinsky "The army was betrayed and humiliated in Chechnya." Although Yavlinsky ordered all 46 Yabloko Duma members to vote for the charge, eight defected and sided with Yeltsin. Members of the right-wing Liberal Democratic Party also supported Yeltsin after Zhirinovsky said impeachment would cause further political chaos.

Stepashin, a low-key veteran of Russia's internal security apparatus, appears to be gaining acceptance among the Duma's diverse factions, but some of his supporters expressed fears the Communists may try to scuttle the nomination in retaliation for the impeachment defeat Yeltsin could provoke more political chaos by disbanding the Duma and calling early elections if his nominee is rejected three times. The Communists have enough votes to block his nomination, but party leaders said yesterday they had not made up their mind how to vote, and might not announce a position until the eve of the vote. "There's no relationship between Stepashin and impeachment," said Communist leader Anatoly Lukyanov. "We'll have to meet to discuss the vote." Ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, head of the Liberal Democratic Party, said Stepashin will be "approved on the first go." Former Foreign Minister Andrey Kozyrev, an independent, pro-Western Duma member, said Stepashin was also gaining acceptance among liberal factions, despite apprehension over his role in the disastrous war in Chechnya, because of his commitment to reform policies. As chief of counterintelligence, Stepashin was among a circle of military leaders who persuaded Yeltsin to invade the breakaway republic.

"There's a promise mat his government could make a difference in the last year of the Yeltsin presidency," said Kozyrev, whom Primakov replaced as foreign minister in 1996. "He's getting more support." Duma leaders had expected Yeltsin to be 1 jBWi. vv MishaJaparidzeAssociatedJJess Supporters of President Boris Yeltsin react to the results of the unsuccessful impeach ment vote outside the parliament building in Moscow yesterday. 1- Yeltsin's victory doesn't end Russia's malaise Is Dan Howard's Maternity and mothertitne maternity baby wear 7 Altogether, about 90 deputies yesterday simply failed to cast ballots. Some may have stayed away because they wanted to avoid further provoking an irascible and unpredictable president.

Others, if rumors are to be believed, may have simply been bought off with promises of jobs, favors for their districts or even outright cash. With a confrontation over impeachment now averted, the battle now moves to the nomination as prime minister of Sergei Stepashin, the Yeltsin loyalist who as Interior minister heads the national police force. The first of maybe as many as three votes on his nomination must be held this week Even if he wins parliamentary approval for Stepashin, this too may prove to be just another tactical victory for Yeltsin. The president said he had fired Primakov for failing to produce an aggressive program of economic reforms. But in public statements this week, Stepashin has assured members of parliament that he will not stray far from the Primakov B-7 OFF Summer Sale! Call 1-S00-9MONTHS for the location near you! INTRODUCING By Celestine Bohlen The New York Times MOSCOW With impeachment now off the political agenda, President Boris Yeltsin wins, and his Communist opposition loses.

An old balance of power rocks back into place, and Russia's latest political crisis begins to recede. Or does it? Even if, as some predict, the parliament goes on to approve Yeltsin's latest nominee for prime minister, the struggle over Russia's future was reopened with new vengeance this week with his firing of the old prime minister, Yevgeny Primakov. And it promises to continue unchecked through the coming (election year. Signs of this could be seen in the speeches on the floor of the parliament yesterday morning, as leaders of Russia's major parties ripped through the country's recent and distant past, throwing around charges and countercharges of murder, treason, incompetence and a criminal squandering of national resources. die-hard Communists but at the heart of its moderate political center.

Missing from the debate were the voices of Russia's economic reformers said to have been behind the decision to fire Primakov whose parties are too small to qualify them for a right to speak yesterday. Speaking on the eve of the vote, Vladimir Lysenko, a liberal deputy from Moscow, described the president's political isolation in graphic terms. "He is in a complete vacuum, just as Tsar Nicholas II was in 1917," said Lysenko. "There is a dead zone around him, like the one around Chernobyl," he said. Yet despite his weakness, Yeltsin was able to pull off a tactical victory yesterday, another testament to his skill at reading his opponents' weaknesses.

Their failure yesterday came in part because they forgot to anticipate one of the oldest tricks in the Russian political game book ducking difficult decisions either by developing a sudden sickness, or just slipping off to the dacha, as the country cottages where Russians often spend weekends are called. Gennady Zyuganov, the Communist leader, called Yeltsin "an absolute evil." Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the ultranationalist who yesterday backed the president, reminded the Communists that it was their party that had sacrificed tens of millions of lives during more than seven decades in power. But the most eloquent comments came from liberals and moderates who called on all sides in Russia's deadly political feuds above all Yeltsin to accept blame and responsibility for the sorry state of the country today. "Does the fact that we are sure that impeachment is untenable constitute a justification of Yeltsin and his rule?" asked Vladimir Ryzhkov, a leader of Our Home Is Russia, a parry created in 1995 to back the president and his administration. "Legally yes, but politically no, no.

We have our own grievances to present to Yeltsin, democratic grievances." By putting Yeltsin in the dock, the parliament managed to reveal the depth of the political animus against him in Russia today, not only among shnn online 1 'if at www.imaternity.com Sale on select items. Not valid on lingerie, with other coupons, on previously purchased items, or at www.iMaternity.com Exp. 52299 i 1 .3. if At Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield we give you over 450 pediatricians to choose from Which is 1 1 (j HMARK about twice as many as the competition. For a complete listing visit our website atvvwwWgrimark.com Blue Cross Blue Shield An Independent Licensee ol the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Figure based on Keystone Health Plan West network against the nearest competitor network..