ZHIRINOVSKY SEEKS TO CORRAL FLEEING "SWINDLERS."

Ultranationalist leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky has called on Russian president Boris Yeltsin to close Moscow’s international Sheremetevo-2 airport between from May 1 to July 1. Zhirinovsky said the move was necessary to prevent "swindlers" leaving Russia and taking their savings to the West. (Interfax, April 12) According to reports from Moscow, hundreds of "new Russians" are taking precautions in anticipation of a Communist victory in June’s presidential election, ranging from stocking up on toilet paper (chronically lacking in Soviet times) to obtaining exit visas and booking plane flights out of the country for themselves and their families. (The European, April 11)

Popular Skepticism over Election.