YELTSIN RETURNS TO KREMLIN, MOVES TO ASSERT AUTHORITY.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin returned to his office today, apparently as part of an ongoing bid to reestablish himself as boss. On Monday (December 7), Yeltsin left the hospital where he has been recovering from pneumonia and spent three hours at the Kremlin, during which he sacked several top aides. “[Yeltsin] is strengthening presidential power,” Sysuev told Itar-Tass news agency in reference to Monday’s reshuffle. “It is not the last step.” On Wednesday, he was discharged from the hospital. According to the Kremlin, Yeltsin will meet today with Nikolai Bordyuzha, his newly appointed chief of staff (Reuters, Itar-Tass, December 11).

NEW CENTER-RIGHT BLOC HOLDS ITS FIRST MEETING IN MOSCOW…