CATCHING UP WITH LEBED….

The only presidential contender from outside Moscow is the governor of Krasnoyarsk, General Aleksandr Lebed. New to the region and new to government, Lebed has neither gone along nor gotten along with the local power elite. The regional legislature wants to curtail his powers, business and financial leaders want his hands out of their pockets, the Communist Party has turned against him, his own Honor and Motherland party has split and the local media are on his case. But Lebed is dogged and resourceful, and he has friends in high places. Last month federal authorities arrested aluminum magnate Aleksandr Bykov, who funds much of Lebed’s local political opposition. That will help Lebed reorganize the local government and gain greater control over revenues from natural resources. With Boris Berezovsky as a backer and seven months still to go before elections, Lebed could still become a factor.