IT'S MORNING IN SIBERIA

As more than 5,000 Russians compete for 450 parliamentary seats in the elections being held Sunday, TIME's Sally Donnelly reports from Moscow that there is already one clear winner: the Russian advertising industry. "Compared to the dull and poorly shot commercials of the 1993 election," Donnelly reports, "many of the new commercials are well made and expertly shot, with clever dialogue. One of the best is for the party called the Congress of Russian Communities, which starts with what appears to be a hidden video camera shooting black and white film of a meeting between a businessman and a government official. The businessman takes an envelope out of his pocket and slides it smoothly across the desk, and the government official equally as smoothly places it in his pocket. Suddenly the bulldog face of Russian Army General (and candidate) Alexander Lebed appears. His gruff voice commands: 'I strongly advise you not to!' Instantly, prison bars slam down on the scene. In another ad, a typical drunken Russian country bumpkin clutching two bottles of vodka is wandering down a lane, clearly soused out of his mind. Two babushkas sit nearby, watching with a combination of amusement and resignation. He crumples onto a bench and a voice-over scolds, "You can't drink like that." Then the sponsor's name appears: The Beer Lovers Party!"