A warm message of congratulations to a conference titled "Russia after Yeltsin" has been the latest confirmation that Russia's president is indeed preparing to step down when his term ends next summer. By forming a new political bloc to contest December's parliamentary elections, Moscow's mayor, Mr Yuri Luzhkov, and a group of regional leaders have officially launched their campaign for the presidency. Mr Luzhkov is popular in Moscow having won more that 80 per cent support from the capital's voters in the election for the mayoralty. In provincial Russia, however, his support is far lower and the merger of his Fatherland movement with the "All Russia" regional group will give his electoral prospects a boost.
At the new group's launch in Moscow two of its three leaders, Mr Luzhkov and St Petersburg's Governor, Mr Vladimir Yakovlev, were named. A symbolic empty chair awaited a third politician who has yet to make up his mind. The third man, former Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov, has not yet decided to take up Mr Luzhkov's offer but should he lend his support to the new political formation its impetus could become unstoppable. A former head of the KGB, admittedly in its milder form when Mr Mikhail Gorbachev was in power, Mr Primakov stepped into the political breach after Russia's financial collapse a year ago. His election as prime minister was supported by groups as disparate as the Communist Party and the openly pro-western Yabloko Party led by liberal economist, Mr Grigory Yavlinsky.
While his cautious economic approach irked neo-liberals abroad the Russian electorate saw him as a symbol of the political and economic stability for which they yearned. His subsequent and typically abrupt dismissal at the hands of Mr Yeltsin served to boost rather than diminish his popularity. Opinion polls currently show him to be clearly the country's most popular politician. Mr Yeltsin, in sacking Mr Primakov, cited the prime minister's failure to turn the economy round after the August crash. It is more likely, however, that the reason for the dismissal was connected to Mr Primakov's growing support from the public and his willingness to investigate corruption.
The new grouping is unlikely to pose a personal threat to the president. Mr Luzhkov has put forward, as an instance of his good will, the idea of making Mr Yeltsin a "senator for life". This position, with its immunity from prosecution, would give protection against vengeful elements. Some of Mr Yeltsin's close associates, members of what has become known as his "entourage", might under a new administration find themselves under investigation concerning the amassing of wealth while in power. While he has not announced his support for the new movement, Mr Primakov has described it as "extremely positive." Should he lend his support, the grouping would be almost certain to gain in both branches of government thus ending the gridlock between president and parliament that bedevilled Russian politics for eight years. That in itself would be an important step forward at a time when Russia badly needs decisive action.