"RED" AND "ZHIRINOVSKY" BELTS IDENTIFIED.

Areas to the south of Moscow, in particular the Black Earth zone, favored the Communist party in yesterday’s vote for a new Russian State Duma. The same areas also favored the Communist party in the December 1993 parliamentary elections. Other "red belts" were discerned in the Kuzbass coal mining area, Kemerovo oblast, and Krasnoyarsk krai. The communists also substantially broadened their 1993 territory through a strong showing in parts of the European north, including Pskov oblast and the Karelian republic.

For the second consecutive parliamentary election in Russia, Zhirinovsky’s Liberal Democratic party fared much better than pollsters predicted. The party held on to its characteristic base of support in Asian border regions — the Far East and along the boundary with Kazakhstan — but was rejected this time around in European Russia. (3)

Communist Party Quietly Confident, Plans to Ally With Nationalists.