MOSCOW: Boris Yeltsin's latest cabinet reshuffle has left his supporters
worried about his sanity while his country braces for yet another
180-degree turn
in economic policy. Five months ago Yeltsin fired Prime Minister Viktor
Chernomyrdin for fomenting a financial crisis; on Sunday he re-appointed
Chernomyrdin to resolve that crisis. "To put it generously, this is rather
illogical on Yeltsin's part," says TIME Moscow bureau chief Paul
Quinn-Judge. "It has raised serious doubts over the president's logical
processes, even among his staunch backers."
By
Chris Taylor and Tony Karon
Monday, Aug. 24, 1998