CNN - Yeltsin surfaces -- on tape

Yeltsin surfaces -- on tape

Urges a vote for 'new and free' Russia

July 1, 1996
Web posted at: 11:05 a.m. EDT (1505 GMT)

MOSCOW (CNN) -- In a videotaped address on Russian television, Boris Yeltsin returned to the public eye Monday after a four-day absence that spurred calls from his presidential race opponent for a full report on the Russian president's health. (445K QuickTime movie)

On the last official day of campaigning before Wednesday's second round of elections, a tired-looking Yeltsin urged voters to turn out and vote for "a new and free Russia."

"I understand that people have been hurt," the Russian president said. "... I am convinced that the way is right. I know exactly what to do . We have the power and the decisiveness, and the only thing I need now is your support."

His Communist rival for the presidency, Gennady Zyuganov, called for a full medical examination for Yeltsin, saying at a Monday news conference that the president's absence was "very alarming."

"Why is there no objective information about his health?" Zyuganov asked. "Why are the doctors silent? Just like you, I would very much like to know about his real situation."

Yeltsin aides said the "real situation" was a "light cold" that caused laryngitis following a stressful week of campaigning leading up to the vote. Yeltsin was last seen Thursday at a military academy's graduation ceremony. He canceled several campaign appearances over the weekend.

The 65-year-old Yeltsin was hospitalized twice last year for serious heart trouble, but he kept up a heavy campaign schedule all spring.

"The president is in pretty good working condition, holding meetings," said Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, a strong Yeltsin supporter. "The only health problem that bothers the president is a voice loss."

But Zyuganov said Yeltsin's failure to appear at a celebration staged by a Moscow newspaper indicated frail health.

"For him not to appear at this campaign event means he has taken ill," Zyuganov said. "If he was healthy he would definitely have appeared."

Russian Television said Yeltsin's television address was videotaped Monday following a briefing from Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin on the just-completed G-7 summit in Lyons, France. Footage of Yeltsin talking with Chernomyrdin was also released along with the three-minute address.

Yeltsin captured 35 percent of the vote in the first election round June 16, and Zyuganov took 32 percent. Russian observers suggest that Wednesday's vote may be just as close, meaning that the winner of the election is likely to invite members of the opposition into his cabinet in order to unite the country.

Yeltsin's advisers are hoping for a large turnout, particularly from Russia's five largest cities, which they believe will help their candidate.

"Those who stay home election day are voting against Russia," Yeltsin said in his television address Monday.

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Yeltsin surfaces -- on tape

Urges a vote for 'new and free' Russia

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