Russia: Moment Of Truth   The Nation Must Choose Between The
Ways Of The Past And Promises For The Future  June 16, 1996|By
E.A. TORRIERO Staff Writer  The reformer does the twist. The
hard-liner bangs his fist.  In politics, style sometimes tells a
lot about substance. And in Russia, a proud country on the
precipice of a momentous decision, the choice is between the
daring new ways of the West and the sure but somber ways of the
past.  That's what is at stake today when 106 million Russian
voters go to 93,500 polling places across 11 time zones.
Incumbent President Boris Yeltsin has run a populist campaign,
promising that his road to Western-style democracy, while marked
with pain and economic pitfalls, will succeed.  Communist
challenger Gennady Zyuganov - one of nine candidates pitted
against Yeltsin - is urging Russians to turn back toward the
Soviet path, where an iron-fisted bureaucracy controlled - but
also took care of - the tens of millions of common folk who
inhabit the vast landscape.  Most polls