"THIRD FORCE" CREATED.

Some of those Russian politicians who Zyuganov hopes will join the left-wing bloc have meanwhile formed a new bloc of their own. Duma deputies retired Lt. General Aleksandr Lebed, Svyatoslav Fedorov, Stanislav Govorukhin, Sergei Glazyev, Konstantin Zatulin, and Oleg Rumyantsev have announced their decision to form an alliance called the "Third Force" and to nominate their own presidential candidate, expected to be Lebed or Fedorov. (5) Lebed has already been nominated by his own party, the Congress of Russian Communities (KRO), but relations between the retired general and KRO leader Yuri Skokov are said to have become so sour that Skokov has locked Lebed out of his office, confiscated his chauffeur-driven car, and forbidden KRO activists to campaign on LebedÕs behalf. (6) Former Yeltsin associate Sergei Shakhrai dismissed the idea of a Òthird force,Ó saying it would merely make it easier for Zyuganov to defeat Yeltsin. (7)

Campaign to Re-Elect the President Plagued by Splits.