…WHILE MAYOR OF PERM SHOOTS HIMSELF IN THE FOOT.

But whereas the gubernatorial election in Perm oblast is proceeding with relative calm, the campaign for the mayor of Perm is mired in scandal. It all began when a local newspaper accused the incumbent mayor, Vladimir Fil, of links with organized crime. Fil responded to the allegation by attacking his rival for the post of mayor, chairman of the city legislature Yuri Trutnev. Fil had 200,000 fake leaflets printed and tried to pass them off as Trutnev’s campaign literature. According to Monitor’s correspondent, the hoax leaflets contained boastful statements such as "I want to be boss of this place" and "I am a karate black belt," but they were so crudely done that no-one was taken in. Monitor’s correspondent says that effect has been to alienate the electorate from the campaign. Voters suspect, moreover, that the election has degenerated into a power struggle between local business interests.

Yeltsin Is First Among Politicians, But His Popularity Tumbles.