ARMENIA’S LEADERSHIP, RUSSIANS OPT FOR YELTSIN.

According to preliminary results, Russian president Boris Yeltsin won 55.6 percent, and Communist candidate Gennady Zyuganov 23.3 percent, of Russian votes cast in Armenia. Turnout was estimated at 60 percent. The result was almost certainly influenced by the military vote, likely to have favored the president. With Armenian president Levon Ter-Petrosian out of the country, parliament chairman Babken Ararktsian, who is Armenia’s second highest official, expressed "hope in a decisive victory of democracy as personified by Boris Yeltsin in the second round of balloting." (Interfax, June 17) The Armenian leadership has been among the most vocal in supporting Yeltsin’s reelection.

Governments Silent, Russian Voters Show Mixed Preferences.