Yeltsin'S Surgery Has Successors' Pulses Racing

But the Kremlin's newest burst of glasnost risked being overshadowed by political turmoil. Most observers predict that the revelation will intensify the fierce but covert succession struggle which began even before Yeltsin was re-elected in July.

If he dies or is incapacitated, Victor Chernomyrdin, the Prime Minister, would take over for three months, until fresh elections. Although Moscow's political elites are still exhausted by a presidential contest which consumed the nation this spring, the possibility that the top job could again be up for grabs is likely to excite the ambitions of Yeltsin's most likely heirs.

As premier and leader of the powerful oil and gas lobby, Chernomyrdin is seen as one of the strongest contenders. But he could be challenged by Yuri Luzhkov, the popular and populist mayor of Moscow, and Alexander Lebed, the maverick security chief who clinched a deal with the Chechen separatists last week.

 

Lebed's rapid emergence from the political shadows to centre stage has been one of the most important results of the elections, in which the charismatic former general came a strong third.

These three members of the Yeltsin administration could also face opposition from the Communists, Russia's best organised grass-roots party.But their resounding defeat in the July poll may discourage them from re-entering the ring; they may decide to back a non-Communist candidates.

For the past two months, they have been engaged in a covert battle for the sympathies of the public and the support of financial and political leaders.

Mr Anatoly Chubais, the president's chief of staff, admired by reformers, is considered to be too unpopular with voters to be a contender. One battleground has been Chechnya, where Mr Lebed made a bold bid for the electorate's support by negotiating a ceasefire, which his potential rivals have been markedly slow to back. As the succession contest becomes even more fierce, it is also expected to become even more discreet. After a successful operation, a vigorous Mr Yeltsin could return to the political scene and punish any subordinate with the temerity to seek to replace him.