The career of 65-year old incumbent Russian President Boris Yeltsin has been an instruction in the fickle nature of the masses. After the abortive 1991 coup, which saw him addressing a Moscow crowd from atop an armored car (a la Vladimir Lenin), Yeltsin swept into power as an anti-status quo candidate, and soon after, the Soviet Union crumbled. Now, some five years later, Yeltsin is no longer the populist hero he once was. As President, Yeltsin linked himself to reform and democracy, preferring to remain above politics, and building a personality cult instead of a pro-reform party apparatus. Although the Communist party has forged links with most anti-Yeltsin groups, the pro-reform movement is still fragmented and ill-prepared for an election campaign. Add this to widespread poverty, concerns about Yeltsin's health, general dissatisfaction in the state of the country, and a wildly unpopular war in Chechnya, and the result is a considerable obstacle for Yeltsin to overcome. Still, fear of a Zyuganov presidency is proving to be a powerful motivating force, and some voters, though disillusioned with the man ensconced in the Kremlin, may yet choose him as the lesser of two evils.--Terence Nelan