October 11, 1999
Web posted at: 3:11 a.m. EDT (0711 GMT)

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From staff and wire reports

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Russian President Boris Yeltsin was feeling somewhat better Sunday, a day after being hospitalized with the flu and a high fever, the Kremlin said.

A spokeswoman for the Kremlin said the president's temperature was down and he was undergoing treatment at Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital, where he was taken Saturday afternoon.

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"Boris Nikolayevich (Yeltsin) is still in hospital, where he is having the appropriate treatment. His condition has slightly improved and his temperature has fallen," the Kremlin spokeswoman said.

The spokeswoman said it still was not known how long Yeltsin would be in the hospital.

Yeltsin was rushed to the hospital Saturday with the flu, according to Yeltsin's press spokesman Dmitry Yakushkin. Yakushkin had characterized the illness as "minor."

Yeltsin, 68, has had health problems for years, including heart trouble that led to multiple bypass surgery in 1996 and recurring bouts of pneumonia and respiratory infections. He has also suffered from back pain and a recurring ulcer in the past year.

The entrance to the Central Clinical Hospital, where Yeltsin was admitted

But the president's health had appeared to improve in recent months and he had been fairly active. He was last hospitalized in February for what doctors said was an ulcer problem.

Yeltsin's latest illness has added to almost continuous speculation about his fitness to run Russia as the country approaches elections for parliament in December and the presidency next year.

His latest hospitalization came as Russian troops again battled forces in the breakaway republic of Chechnya.

Yeltsin insists he is fit enough to serve out his term, which ends in the middle of next year. Opposition leaders repeatedly have called on him to step down because of his health problems.

Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty, The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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