Boris Yeltsin urged voters today to remember the empty store shelves and the lack of freedom during Soviet times as he tried to counter Communist nostalgia for the old days.
The Russian president, appearing for the first time on one of his free radio campaign spots, is in a tough race against Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov in the June 16 election.Speaking on Yunost radio, Yeltsin asked Russians to think back on what the country has achieved during the five years of his presidency and "it will be immediately clear what we have left behind, what we've achieved and how much is left to do."
Many Russians, especially older people whose pensions have shriveled under market reforms, bemoan the loss of the Soviet safety net and fondly remember the days of free health care and low, subsidized food prices.
Yeltsin said it was normal to remember only the good things, but he said voters were forgetting the empty store shelves, that "there could be only one party and only one right opinion," and that "we lived behind an Iron Curtain."
He said Russia was building a new economy that will "secure a decent life for people" and returning to its religious roots with the opening of thousands of cathedrals.
"Today our own enemy is our cowardice, our bewilderment ... our constant hope for a `kind uncle,' " Yeltsin said. "There will be no `kind uncle,' nobody will come and say: on June 17 we'll have a better life. And if anybody says this - he isn't worth a dime."
Most reputable polls say a third or so of the voters back Yeltsin and about a quarter are for Zyuganov, his main rival.
But in an interview Sunday on independent NTV, Yeltsin said his "intuition" tells him he'll get the 50 percent-plus one he needs on June 16 to avoid a runoff.