RUSSIA'S REGENT

ANATOLI CHUBAIS IS ONE OF THE MOST UNPOPULAR--AND MOST POWERFUL--POLITICIANS IN THE KREMLIN

As Boris Yeltsin recovers from a near fatal bout with heart disease, who's the real power behind Russia's President? Most Kremlin watchers would point to a consummate political strategist named Anatoli Chubais (Choo-by-iss), the organizer of Yeltsin's come-from-behind election win last summer and the favorite of the country's influential new entrepreneurs.

His official title, chief of the presidential administration, suggests a high-level aide, but that understates his clout. Chubais, 41, has pushed out one rival, the populist general Alexander Lebed, and--for the time being at least--has outmaneuvered another, the uncharismatic but formidable Prime Minister, Victor Chernomyrdin. During the months of Yeltsin's...

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