MEN OF CONVICTION

. Less than 48 hours after it ceased accepting nominations, the Central Electoral Commission released the names of 87 would-be candidates to the Duma who have done time in prison or are currently under investigation. With information from Russia’s MVD in hand, commission chairman Nikolai Ryabov revealed on October 23 that the Liberal Democratic Party had the largest number of previously sentenced criminals — 12 in all, including two who have been court-martialled. (4) In addition, chemical weapons expert Anatoly Kuntsevich, also on the Zhirinovsky party list, is now under investigation for allegedly helping to smuggle 800 kilos (1,760 pounds) of poisonous substances to the Middle East. (5)

In second place was the "Derzhava" ["great power"] movement, headed by former vice president Aleksandr Rutskoi, with a list that included six criminals, two of them repeat offenders. "Derzhava" was followed by the Communist Party. which features two candidates who have done time in prison and two more who were freed in the February 1994 amnesty. Several other parties, among them, "Yabloko" and the Agrarians, listed candidates with criminal backgrounds. Under Russian law, persons who served or are currently serving a sentence cannot run for election. (6)

Other Hanky Panky.