Russians vote Wednesday in the first democratic elections for the presidency of the Russian Republic and the mayors of various cities. The election is being held under a new constitution that was adopted by parliament last week. The campaign has turned dirty with newspaper allegations that Yeltsin is emotionally unstable. Yeltsin's aides have charged that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev personally ordered a KBG smear. This indicates that rapprochement between Yeltsin and Gorbachev is only skin deep and also indicates growing desperation by Soviet leaders. ; The Pravda article, purporting to be a psychological study of Yeltsin by four academics, mentioned "a suicide attempt at a time when his party career was finished. Failure to win an absolute majority will force a runoff with Yeltsin's main opponent, former Soviet Prime Minister Nikolaj Ryzhkov.
Russians vote Wednesday in the first democratic elections for the presidency of the Russian Republic and the mayors of various cities. The election is being held under a new constitution that was adopted by parliament last week. The campaign has turned dirty with newspaper allegations that Yeltsin is emotionally unstable. Yeltsin's aides have charged that Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev personally ordered a KBG smear. This indicates that rapprochement between Yeltsin and Gorbachev is only skin deep and also indicates growing desperation by Soviet leaders. Failure to win an absolute majority will force a runoff with Yeltsin's main opponent, former Soviet Prime Minister Nikolaj Ryzhkov.