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Smaller, cheaper Yeltsin inauguration to go ahead
But all is not well for the Russian president
August 8, 1996
Web posted at:From Correspondent Mike Hanna
MOSCOW (CNN) -- The first presidential inauguration in Russian history will be held Friday, but plans for heavy pomp and circumstance were substantially cut back at the last minute.
Russian President Boris Yeltsin's cabinet insists, however, that their motives had little to do with several dark shadows clouding a successful presidential campaign.
For starters, questions remain about Yeltsin's health. The inauguration will be the most Russia has seen of him since his July 3 re-election. In lieu of personal appearances by Yeltsin, a camera team has produced and distributed a series of tightly edited video clips.
At the sanitarium outside Moscow, where advisers say he's been resting, and in the Kremlin office which he returned to this week, the president moves slowly and deliberately. His spokesmen insist he is merely tired, not seriously ill. But Yeltsin is clearly not the same man who recently conducted a vigorous, successful re-election campaign.
Now, he has to deal with yet another crisis in Chechnya, where a massive rebel attack continues.
Chechen rebels and the Russian government signed a peace accord in June, during Yeltsin's campaign. But fighting began anew in July, with Chechen rebels claiming they were provoked by a Russian military offensive that began shortly after the presidential elections.
Some analysts argue that the rebels are also intent on embarrassing Yeltsin during the week of his presidential inauguration.
"They want to make sure that the question is not resolved, that they continue to fight. And they will be a permanent irritating factor in the Russian politics," said political analyst Andrei Kortunov.
The inauguration was to be a glittering occasion in the Kremlin's historic Cathedral Square, next to where the last Russian czar, Nicholas II, was crowned exactly a century ago. The venue and the form of the ceremony was intended to signal the emergence of a new Russian democracy and, CNN was told only last week, designed to rekindle links with a pre-Communist past.
"It's very important now to really establish the continuity of Russian history and traditions. Of course, we cannot take everything from the old Russian traditions, but this real break in Russian history in the Communist era contributed a lot to loss of tradition, to loss of national spirit," said presidential adviser Vyacheslav Nikonov.
But at the last minute, the scheduled hour-long ceremony was cut to 20 minutes and moved into the Grand Palace, a characterless Soviet-era building where Yeltsin began his presidency five years ago.
"The president said the costs should have been added up first, there is no spare money in the treasury, even for such an important ceremony," said presidential spokesman Sergei Medvedev.
Although the inauguration venue has changed, its planners still want to encourage festive spirits among Moscow's residents, and so have hung banners throughout the city, calling on Muscovites to "rejoice."
For many, however, the banners have a hollow ring. The promise of this inaugural summer is fading, as an ailing president and his people move uncertainly towards what may be an autumn of deepening discontent.
Related stories:
- 'Tired' Yeltsin holds postponed meeting with Gore - July 16, 1996
- Safe in office, Yeltsin turns attention to economy - July 5, 1996
- Russian media criticized for favoring Yeltsin - July 5, 1996
- Yeltsin calls for unity after sweeping victory - July 4, 1996
- Pivotal Elections: Russia
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