YELTSIN LEAVES MOSCOW FOR TWO-WEEK VACATION.

Russian president Boris Yeltsin has at last listened to his doctors and begun a two-week vacation to rebuild his strength after three grueling months of electioneering. (AP, Reuters, July 15) Instead of heading south to the Black Sea, Yeltsin is spending his holiday in the Barvikha sanatorium close to Moscow, where he recuperated following his second heart attack last year. Presidential press secretary Sergei Medvedev explained this decision yesterday, saying Yeltsin wanted to keep a close eye on the formation of the new Russian government. In other words, Yeltsin wanted to prevent prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin from putting together a government of people loyal only to himself.

Lazarenko Escapes Assassination.