Surviving Yeltsin's 'Cold'
Russia has developed an immunity to the colds of Boris Nikolayevich
Yeltsin. Once, Moscow's political machinery would freeze up every time
Yeltsin sneezed. Now, in a sure sign of the ailing president's ebbing
power, the capital is just ignoring his latest health problems.
"Even if
Yeltsin were forced out due to illness, that would no longer make a
difference to Russia's political direction," says TIME Moscow bureau chief
Paul Quinn-Judge. "The currency markets indicated today that they don't
care, and Yeltsin's approval rating now stands at 2 percent, compared with
an 89 percent disapproval rating." Physically and politically enfeebled,
Yeltsin has relinquished control of much of his government, but
that doesn't mean there's been any progress or decisive action on
the economy. "The problem now isn't that Boris
Yeltsin is irrelevant," says Quinn-Judge. "The problem is that the current
government is immobile. Despite being in power a month, they haven't actually
done anything nor made clear what they plan to do. All discussion about
this government remains theoretical."