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Yeltsin arrives at Kremlin as Duma considers impeachment
January 22, 1997
Web posted at: 1:45 p.m. EST (1845 GMT)From Moscow Bureau Chief Eileen O'Connor
MOSCOW (CNN) -- Two days after being released from the hospital, Boris Yeltsin made a surprise trip to the Kremlin Wednesday to counter a move to oust him from the Russian presidency.
Pro-government deputy speaker Alexander Shokhin told reporters that a vote on a Communist-sponsored resolution to impeach him failed in the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, by a 102-87 vote. But the Duma's press office said that vote was to delay immediate consideration of the resolution in order to allow more discussion.
The Russian president was hospitalized January 8 with pneumonia, about two weeks after he returned to work following recuperation for heart bypass surgery.
News of Yeltsin's return to the Kremlin did not drown out calls for his removal from opponents who claim the president is too sick to serve.
During the stormy parliament session Wednesday, members of the pro-government Our Home is Russia party walked out of the chambers, refusing to discuss the resolution at all. Presidential spokesman Alexander Kotenkov told Duma members that the impeachment proceedings were unconstitutional.
The Duma's legal advisers have also told parliament they have no legal right to impeach the president.
"If the Duma passes this resolution, that would give the president all grounds to disband it and set new elections," said Sergei Belyayev, head of the Our Home is Russia party.
But the Communist lawmakers say Yeltsin cannot rule Russia from a sickbed.
"Due to his state of health, the president is incapable of exercising his powers," said parliamentary deputy Viktor Ilyuhkin, who introduced the impeachment resolution.
Yeltsin has not been seen in public since a January 6 meeting and was not seen by reporters Wednesday. The Kremlin statement that he met with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin did little to allay concerns about Yeltsin's health.
His own staff and government are concerned enough that they are exploring ways to redistribute the power of the president -- perhaps to the prime minister, or through the creation of the post of vice president.
Surprisingly, even opponent Alexander Lebed -- who finished third in presidential voting and served briefly as Yeltsin's security chief -- supports the redistribution of power and doesn't support parliamentary efforts to remove Yeltsin before the end of his term.
"The situation in the country is very complex," he told CNN. "The nation needs to be governed with a sure hand as never before. And the personal drama of a single man must not become a tragedy for the whole country."
Increasingly, Russians from across the spectrum of political beliefs are coming to the conclusion that something must be done to move the country forward, despite a sick president.
Related stories:
- With Yeltsin ill, aides consider constitutional changes - January 21, 1997
- Yeltsin ends 13-day hospital stay - January 20, 1997
- Yeltsin to remain hospitalized all week - January 15, 1997
- Kremlin says Yeltsin 'significantly better' - January 14, 1997
- Yeltsin to stay in hospital for at least 3 more days - January 10, 1997
- Yeltsin 'satisfactory,' being treated for pneumonia - January 9, 1997
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