Russia's opposition-dominated lower house of parliament lumbered into a long-delayed debate yesterday on whether to launch impeachment proceedings against President Yeltsin.
The State Duma debate is due to last three days and consider five counts against the ailing president, who precipitated a crisis on Wednesday by sacking the government.
A senior opposition Communist and the Kremlin representative provided the few sparks of passion in opening arguments.
"The country is in ruins, writhing in its death throes," thundered senior Communist deputy Mr Viktor Ilyukhin. Russia's rebirth could begin only after the president's removal, he said.
Mr Yeltsin's man in the Duma, Mr Alexander Kotenkov, said deputies were at a crossroads. "You are standing before the choice of whether to plunge the country into a crisis and continue to fight for power in a crisis, or to carry out a peaceful change of power under constitutional procedures and through a legal nationwide election," he said.
The session began with an overview of the charges against Mr Yeltsin. They range from destroying the Soviet Union and starting the disastrous 1994-1996 war against breakaway Chechnya to setting tanks on Russia's parliament in 1993.
The debate risks further raising the temperature after Mr Yeltsin (68) pushed Russia into turmoil on Wednesday by dismissing Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and his cabinet.
The move shook markets. The rouble fell further on Thursday, dipping below 26 to the dollar compared with 24.95 on Wednesday. Emerging markets currencies were softer across the board.
Russian newspapers were scathing about Mr Yeltsin. The daily Obshchaya Gazeta, among others, highlighted health concerns about the Kremlin leader, who in recent years has endured heart surgery, pneumonia, ulcers and other illnesses.
"The country is again following with fear the unstable gait of its president," it said. "He is behaving like a person surrounded only by enemies, treachery and betrayal."
Many politicians saw Mr Yeltsin's move as an attempt to tackle the Duma head-on before the debate. His spokesman, Mr Dmitry Yakushkin, told Interfax news agency that Mr Yeltsin was nonetheless "inclined to co-operate constructively" with the assembly.
But media speculated that Mr Yeltsin might consider using force against his opponents if the crisis deepens, presumably to the point where the Duma voted for impeachment and rejected his candidate for prime minister, Mr Sergei Stepashin, three times.