The life of a populist is not an easy one. Fired from the Politburo two years ago, Boris Yeltsin performed the impossible in Soviet politics -- a comeback -- and skated to victory in parliamentary elections last March. Since then, however, Yeltsin has been sniped at by both opponents and supporters of Mikhail Gorbachev for being too brash and publicity hungry in his criticisms about the pace of perestroika. Last week Yeltsin was shot at again, but this time the volley went right through his foot, and the finger on the trigger was his own.
As Yeltsin listened glumly, Interior Minister...