ZYUGANOV’S POPULARITY GROWING, POLL REVEALS.

Communist party leader Gennady Zyuganov has become the most trusted politician in Russia today, according to a poll of the All-Russian Public Opinion Institute. Conducted during the week of January 20-25, the survey was based on a representative sample of the population and has a 4 percent margin of error. Asked to name whom they trusted most, 17 percent of respondents picked Zyuganov, up from 11 percent in November 1995. Grigory Yavlinsky received 15 percent, a rating that remains unchanged since the end of last year. Retired Lt. General Aleksandr Lebed, with 14 percent, was the third most trusted politician. President Yeltsin, at a mere 5 percent, ranked only tenth — falling behind Viktor Chernomyrdin, Yegor Gaidar, and even Vladimir Zhirinovsky. (4) Although opinion surveys in Russia have been less than accurate in election projections, they are often useful as indicators of underlying trends over time. The present survey indicates that Yeltsin has his work cut out for him between now and the June presidential election.

European-Russian Trade Agreement Comes Into Effect.