PRESIDENT Yeltsin has closed the gap further on the Communist leader, Mr Gennady Zyuganov, in the Russian presidential election contest, according to the latest opinion polls taken shortly before Mr Yeltsin announced his peace plan for Chechnya.
While most observers in Russia believe that Mr Yeltsin's peace plan for the breakaway region is doomed to failure, they also believe that it will boost his support among the general public at least until it becomes clear that the war has started again.
Russian shelling eased in Chechnya yesterday after Mr Yeltsin announced an end to combat operations, but 28 troops were killed during the night.
The soldiers were killed near the village of Vedeno in south eastern Chechnya after Mr Yeltsin's midnight deadline to end the fighting. A further 69 servicemen were injured.
"Fighters are strengthening positions in several settlements in the area, digging trenches and installing fire points", Interfax quoted a top Russian military official as saving.
The commander of ground forces in Chechnya, Gen Vyacheslav Tikhomirov, said yesterday that it would be impossible to withdraw troops on the schedule given to him.
Mr Yeltsin, in the latest poll by the All Russian Centre for Public Opinion (VTsIOM), has gained three percentage points and is supported by 18 per cent of voters, while Mr Zyuganov has remained steady on 25 per cent.
The main democratic candidate, Mr Grigory Yavlinsky, dropped two points to 9 per cent, level with ultra nationalist, Mr Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
Support for the nationalist, Gen Alexander Lebed, rose from 7 per cent to 10 per cent.
A spokesman for VTsIOM told The Irish Times that he regarded the poll as being accurate in most respects except in the case of Mr Zhirinovsky.
"We have been able to forecast the support for parties and candidates up to the degree of accuracy obtained by western polling organisations in all cases except that of Mr Zhirinovsky", the spokesman said.
"I suspect that many of his supporters do not wish to be identified publicly with his right wing policies. The Zhirinovsky factor may well have distorted the level of support given for other candidates in this poll he said.
