Is Zyuganov's populist appeal enough to beat Yeltsin?
May 21, 1996
Web posted at: 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT)MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Judging how well Communist candidate Gannady Zyuganov will do in Russia's presidential election next month is a tricky endeavor.
His backers said Tuesday they are confident he'll beat President Boris Yeltsin, pointing to their own polls showing Zyuganov ahead. But as he travels around the country, the campaigning Communist is met at times by more journalists then voters.
"One out of two people does not receive their pay on time. What kind of market is this?"
-- Gennady Zyuganov,
Russian Communist candidate
Campaign chief Valentin Kuptsov said the party's own surveys, in contrast with others in recent days, put Zyuganov far ahead of Yeltsin, by 30 percent to 17 percent.
However, other recent polls put Zyuganov up to 8 percentage points behind Yeltsin, although such surveys have a wide margin of error and a poor record of predicting past Russian elections.
One recent day, Zyuganov was in Yekaterinburg -- Yeltsin's home town in the Ural Mountains -- portraying himself as the people's candidate, someone who cares. Sympathizing with a teacher who has not been paid in three months, he asked, "How do you live?"
Free-market fiasco?
It is the people left behind in Russia's free-market push who are Zyuganov's unwavering supporters: workers, clerks, bureaucrats, some professionals and especially the elderly.
In the Soviet era, "There were a lot of shortcomings," said Yakov Isakov, 91. "But now things are completely bad. People are becoming beggars." It's a complaint Zyuganov takes great joy in repeating to voters.
"They say they are taking us forward to a market economy. To survive in the market you need money to produce goods, but our production has been cut in half. One out of two people does not receive their pay on time. What kind of market is this?" Zyuganov asked.
Mixed feelings
Even at the university in Yekaterinburg, Yeltsin's alma mater, Zyuganov finds supporters.
"I like his support for education. With everything falling apart, I won't vote for (Yeltsin). He has not taken one step forward," said one male student.
But the backing is not unanimous. Asked for his opinion, another male student announced: "I don't love Yeltsin but I am definitely against Zyuganov and the Communists."
He explained that the memory of his grandmother standing in line with a food rationing card to buy sausage is still fresh in his mind, even though it was 10 years ago.
Others in the younger generation were unsure how they will vote on June 16. "No one likes the situation we are in today, but there is not a better (choice) either," explained a woman student.
Moscow Bureau Chief Eileen O'Connor and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Zyuganov profile (Time Magazine) - May 27, 1996 issue
- Western-style ad blitz kicks off Russian campaign season - May 16, 1996
- Zyuganov won't contest election results - May 8, 1996
- Zyuganov: communist or capitalist? - February 7, 1996
Related sites:
- Russia Today (election news)
- Russian Elections
- Maximov's election special
- Russia: Elections '95 (available in English and Russian)
- Russian Presidential Elections - 96
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