SAMARA…

In March, Governor Konstantin Titov ran for president of Russia and lost. No shame in that, but he came in third in his own region, trailing Vladimir Putin and Communist Gennady Zyuganov. The nobility of his ensuing resignation as governor was marred when he engineered an early special election and announced his candidacy for a new full term. He is now one of four competing in the June 2 election. Among his opponents is General Albert Makashov, the notorious anti-Semite, who is backed by the local Communist Party.