A Frail Yeltsin Released From Hospital

MOSCOW: Russian president Boris Yeltsin left the Kremlin hospital Monday after a two week bout with pneumonia amid growing concerns about his ability to govern. His spokesman warned ominously that Yeltsin would not return to his desk anytime soon: "One should not expect a forceful return of Boris Nikolayevich to full-time work, including a return to the Kremlin," Sergei Yastrzhembsky told reporters. The Russian leader is expected to do paperwork for only three or four hours a day at his country home near Moscow until he has fully recovered. Sidelined by heart trouble and bypass surgery since he began his second term last summer, Yeltsin has largely been eclipsed by speculation as to his chances of recovery and the cries of hard-line opponents calling for his impeachment on grounds that he is not able to perform his duties. The last such attempt, by Communist lawmaker Viktor Ilyukhin, failed only last week, and he has vowed to bring it up in parliament again. As Russia's government drifts, manned by Yeltsin appointees, its economic troubles continue to worsen, with growing numbers of workers awaiting months of unpaid wages and pensions.