SHUMEIKO MOVEMENT SEEN AS PRESIDENTIAL VEHICLE.

The announcement that Federation Council speaker Vladimir Shumeiko and the leaders of some of Russia’s most influential regions are to establish a new political movement, "Russian Reforms — A New Course," met with a skeptical reaction in the Russian media. Writing in the reformist newspaper Nezavisimaya gazeta November 23, columnist Marina Shakina speculated that Shumeiko’s aim was to succeed where other leaders (notably, First Deputy Premier Sergei Shakhrai and Premier Viktor Chernomyrdin) had failed, and to create a political party on the basis of Russia’s regions. The newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Vitaly Tretyakov, concluded that Shumeiko’s purpose was to build a movement capable of supporting Boris Yeltsin’s bid for a second presidential term in 1996. Shumeiko confirmed this interpretation when he told Interfax November 24 that the movement might "become the basis for the head of state making political and other decisions. At present, the Russian president has no force to lean on," Shumeiko commented. The new movement plans to hold its organizational congress December 1.

Shumeiko Asks Yeltsin To Suspend Privatization Auctions.