Yeltsin’s health a concern

Amani Ismail

Russian president Boris Yeltsin has been suffering from heart problems the last few years, and some members of the Iowa State community think Yeltsin’s poor health is hurting the nation he leads.

Joel Moses, professor of political science, said Yeltsin’s health deterioration should be an issue of concern. “It affects very negatively on his political institution,” he said.

Moses, however, said it’s very unlikely that Yeltsin would step down before June 2000, by which time he will have served two consecutive presidential terms.

The Russian Constitution, adopted in 1993, prohibits a president from serving more than two consecutive terms in office, Moses said.

Moses said Yeltsin wants to be the first Russian chief executive to peacefully give up power to the next president.

Moses described this as a “point of pride” for Yeltsin, the first democratically elected leader of Russia.

Tatiana Spektor, adjunct assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures, agreed Yeltsin wouldn’t step down voluntarily.

“Nobody did it before him. Why should he do that?” she asked.

Spektor, a native of Russia, said she believes Yeltsin’s love of power drives him to claim that he’s still capable of functioning as president.

“Power is more important to him than life itself,” she said.

Spektor said she thought Yeltsin’s heart condition is preventing him from fulfilling his duties to the Russian people.

“If he were as healthy as he was in the 1980s, I think it would be much better for Russia,” she said.

Moses said the current approval rate of Yeltsin among the Russians ranges from 2 percent to 4 percent.

Moses attributed this “poor” rate to Yeltsin’s inefficient economic and political policies.

He said the vast majority of Russians want him to step down, not because he’s not healthy enough to perform as president, but rather because of his unsuccessful management of the country.

Spektor said one of the reasons Yeltsin’s health has not been an issue for the Russian population is because Russians typically adopt unhealthful lifestyles.

“People don’t eat properly; they don’t exercise, and the ecology is terrible,” she said.

Oksana Matvienko, graduate student in food science and human nutrition and a native of Russia, also said she isn’t concerned about Yeltsin’s health; she’s merely concerned about the Russian economy.

“People are tired of instability. They want some improvement,” she said.

As an example, Matvienko said the frequent rise of inflation in Russia has made businesses incapable of making decisions that are based on the country’s economic dimensions, including the price of the Russian ruble against the American dollar.

Matvienko said her brother-in-law, who works for an advertisement company, said his company is now receiving less business than earlier in the decade.

If businesses are unsure about the direction and size of inflation, they won’t risk their money, she said.

But despite the drop in business activity, Matvienko said she does not think Yeltsin should be involuntarily removed.

“I really wouldn’t think that the international community should interfere in this case,” she said.