Boris N. Yeltsin, the newly elected president of the Russian republic, sat down with 130 legislators today to negotiate the makeup of a coalition government for the largest Soviet republic. Legislators said Yeltsin immediately came under pressure to retain as Russian prime minister Alexander Vlasov, a member of the Communist Party Politburo who had been Yeltsin's rival in Tuesday's balloting for president. Yeltsin opened today's meeting in a businesslike fashion and set only one limit, asking that one of his deputies be a woman, legislators said. Yeltsin, a frequent critic of Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev and his gradual reforms, was reported to have gained the last few votes he needed by offering to guarantee a place in his government for other factions. Although most of the Russian legislators are Communist Party members, they range from radical reformers like Yeltsin to hard-liners unhappy with even the more modest innovations of Gorbachev. Yeltsin won his new job Tuesday on the third ballot in the Russian Congress of People's Deputies. Yeltsin poses a substantial challenge to Gorbachev, both through his personal popularity and his demand that much authority be transferred from Gorbachev's central government to the republics. That would greatly increase his power, since Russia is the largest republic with 52 percent of the Soviet Union's 289 million people and three-quarters of its land. The strapping, white-haired Siberian said Tuesday he would seek reconciliation with Gorbachev and avoid confrontation with him as long as it would not hurt Russia's interests. He took the first step in that direction today, meeting in the ornate St. George's Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace with representatives of each political faction and each ethnic region in the Russian Federation. Yeltsin asked for two to three nominations for each ministerial post in the Russian government. He said the candidates would be presented to the full Russian Congress for confirmation starting Thursday. It was not clear how such a system would lead to the delicate balance of political forces and personalities typical of a coalition government in the West. The session was closed to reporters after the first few minutes. Legislators said the talks were not aimed at parceling out portfolios in the Council of Ministers to specific political parties or factions. ``We don't really have hard political divisions like that right now,'' explained Igor Bratishev, an economist and deputy from Rostov-on-Don who participated in today's meeting with 130 legislators arrayed around a vast rectangle under the ornate vaulted ceiling of St. George's Hall. So far, 24 legislative groups have registered, including Yeltsin's own Democratic Russia and one called Communists of Russia. But the majority have a narrow focus, such as ecology, medical workers and legislators concerned with the problems of refugees. The so-called ``conciliation committee'' is seeking a consensus on candidates for prime minister and the three assistants to Yeltsin, said Vladimir Ivanov, a legislator from Buryatia near Lake Baikal in Siberia. ``People want Yeltsin to suggest Vlasov for prime minister,'' Ivanov said. The committee, representing each political group and each ethnic region in the Russian Federation, is examining candidates' personal qualifications and morale convictions, Bratishev said. In Ottawa, Canada, on Tuesday Gorbachev told reporters he was ``somewhat concerned'' about Yeltsin's victory but encouraged by the new Russian president's vow to settle divisions in the Congress and work with the Kremlin leadership. ``If, however, he is playing a political game, then we may be in for a difficult time,'' Gorbachev said. Gorbachev, who was to arrive in Washington today for a summit with President Bush, spent days watching the struggle for control of the Russian Congress. He even took the floor to speak against Yeltsin. Yeltsin and many Soviets said the election could help advance reforms in the Soviet Union. ``It may be a blessing in disguise,'' Soviet Foreign Ministry spokesman Gennady Gerasimov told reporters at the United Nations in New York. ``Gorbachev has his critics from both the left and the right, and possibly it is better to have the election of a critic from the left.'' Vitaly Churkin, another Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Yeltsin's election ``might actually help Gorbachev because Gorbachev is for radical reform, and he needs more popular support for that.'' Gorbachev brought Yeltsin to Moscow to head the city's Communist Party, but the two men fell out over Yeltsin's public criticism in 1987 of the pace of reform and have been at odds ever since. As president of the Russian Congress, a newly created body that holds the Russian Federation's highest government authority, Yeltsin acts as chief executive of the republic. As the first president of a newly reorganized legislature, he will play a major role in shaping his powers and duties, which as yet are unclear.
Boris Yeltsin , the newly elected president of the Russian republic , sat down with 130 legislators today to negotiate the formation of a new government for the largest Soviet republic . He said that he opened the meeting in a businesslike fashion and set only one limit , asking that one of his deputies be a woman . Representatives of each political faction and each ethnic region in the Russian Federation were present . Yeltsin asked for up to three nominations for each ministerial post in the Russian government . He said the candidates would be presented to the full Russian Congress for consideration starting Thursday .