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RUSSIAN ELECTION PREVIEW
INTRODUCTION:
RUSSIA IS PREPARING FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS ON MARCH 26TH. THE POPULAR
ACTING PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN, WHO TOOK OVER THE KREMLIN WHEN PRESIDENT
BORIS YELTSIN RESIGNED ON NEW YEARS EVE, IS WIDELY EXPECTED TO WIN. MR
PUTIN IS KNOWN AS A TOUGH TALKING LEADER AND THE MAN BEHIND RUSSIA'S WAR
IN CHECHNYA. MOST MUSCOVITES SAY THEY WILL SUPPORT MR. PUTIN. VOA'S EVE
CONANT LOOKS AT A FEW RUSSIANS WHO SAY THEY HAVE REASON TO VOTE FOR SOMEONE
ELSE.
NARRATOR:
MOST PEOPLE HERE IN MOSCOW SAY THEY ALREADY KNOW WHO THEIR NEW LEADER
WILL BE.
SERGEY ALEXANDROV (STUDENT)
"Vladimir Putin. I'll vote for him. I like him as a man and a politician.
I'm tired of all the other candidates."
OR THERE'S DOCTOR TATYANA MOISENKOVSKAYA.
TATYANA MOISENKOVSKAYA
"I will vote for (Mr.) Putin because I'm against the Communists and
he's the only candidate who has a high enough rating to beat them."
TELEPHONE ENGINEER ZHANA GULYAEVA DOES NOT SUPPORT VLADIMIR PUTIN, ALTHOUGH SHE DOES EXPECT HIM TO WIN. SHE HAS JOINED THE GROWING RANKS OF FRUSTRATED RUSSIANS WHO SAY THEY WILL VOTE FOR "NONE OF THE ABOVE" WHEN THEY GO TO THE POLLING BOOTH.
ZHANA GULYAEVA
"I haven't seen a single politician yet that could change my life for
the better. Any proper leader wouldn't take part in these scandals and
games we see on television."
HER HUSBAND SLAVA -- WHO WORKS AS A STOCKBROKER -- SAYS HE WON'T BOTHER VOTING FOR HIS FIRST CHOICE, THE LIBERAL GRIGORY YAVLINSKY, BECAUSE HE HAS NO CHANCE TO WIN.
SLAVA GULYAEV
"There is no way that my favorite candidate would ever win. Why waste
my vote on him? We all know it's Mr. Putin who is going to be president,
so I'll just vote for him and get it over with."
THIS IS A NEW HOME FOR 59-YEAR OLD FACTORY WORKER ANTONINA SAFRYGINA. SHE SAYS SHE IS LONELY NOW THAT SHE HAS BEEN FORCED TO MOVE TO A NEW REGION WHERE SHE KNOWS NO ONE. SHE WAS ONE OF THE VICTIMS OF A SERIES OF APARTMENT BOMBINGS LAST YEAR THAT KILLED HUNDREDS AND SPARKED THE WAR IN CHECHNYA. SHE SAYS SHE IS ANGRY WITH RUSSIA'S LEADERS AND WILL VOTE FOR COMMUNIST CANDIDATE GENNADY ZYUGANOV.
ANTONINA SAFRYGINA
"I trust the Communists. The Democrats deceived and hurt us, especially
older people like me. They took away our pensions. You young people will
always survive -- but what can older people do?"
SHE IS FURIOUS THAT ACTING PRESIDENT PUTIN SUGGESTED RUSSIA JOIN NATO AND SAYS THE UNITED STATES JUST WANTS TO HUMILIATE RUSSIA. SHE THINKS MR. PUTIN IS ONLY POPULAR BECAUSE HE'S ON TELEVISION SO OFTEN.
ANTONINA SAFRYGINA
"He may become President but its only because the television is pressuring
us so much, repeating the same stories over and over again."
ALTHOUGH THE COMMUNISTS ARE SEEN AS THE ONLY CHALLENGE TO MR. PUTIN, THEIR POPULARITY IS DWINDLING AS EACH YEAR PASSES. THOSE WHO COME OUT ON THESE COLD WINTER MORNINGS ARE MOSTLY THE ELDERLY WHO REMEMBER THE STABLE YEARS OF THE SOVIET REGIME. FOR THEM, ACTING PRESIDENT PUTIN IS SIMPLY A NEW FACE TO REPRESENT THE CORRUPTION AND ECONOMIC DECLINE THEY SAY SHAPED THE YELTSIN YEARS.
EVE CONANT, VOA-TV, MOSCOW
