A calculated move to help Putin

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, DEC. 31. The news of Mr. Boris Yeltsin's resignation as Russian President came as a surprise as he had repeatedly said he would serve out his full term. There was also speculation that he could try to prolong his stay in power but Mr. Yeltsin dismissed the suggestions as ``lies.'' He also said his decision had nothing to do with his health.

``I must not stand in the way of the natural course of history,'' the outgoing President said. ``To cling to power for another six months when the country has a strong person worthy of becoming President - why should I stand in his way? Why should I wait? It's not in my character,'' Mr. Yeltsin said.

Kremlin sources told the Interfax news agency that Mr. Yeltsin had taken the final decision to resign only on Thursday, after he had already recorded his usual New Year TV address. But analysts said Mr. Yeltsin's decision was a well-calculated move to help his favoured successor, Mr. Putin, win the Presidency. Mr. Putin said he would retain his post of Prime Minister in the

run up to elections. Control of the Government gives Mr. Putin a huge advantage in the race to succeed Mr. Yeltsin.

Mr. Putin, a 46-year-old former KGB officer appointed Prime Minister only in August, is today Russia's most popular politician, largely thanks to his resolute handling of the war in Chechnya. Mr. Putin is expected to benefit greatly from early elections, as his popularity today is at its peak.

He is also expected to capitalise on the success of the pro- government parties in parliamentary elections earlier this month and the poor showing of the alliance led by his main rival, the former Prime Minister, Mr. Yevgeny Primakov.

The Itar-Tass news agency said Mr. Yeltsin still planned to visit the Holy Land in Palestine next week to mark the first Orthodox Christmas of the new millennium despite stepping down as Russia's President.

In his address to the nation Mr. Yeltsin begged Russians to forgive him for his mistakes, but also asserted that he had done the main job of his life. ``Russia will never return to the past; Russia will now always be moving forward,'' Mr. Yeltsin said.

Reuters reports:

After announcing his resignation today, Mr. Boris Yeltsin must hand over to his acting successor one of the most important symbols of power in Russia: the briefcase with codes to launch nuclear missiles.

Mr. Yeltsin received the briefcase from the Soviet leader, Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev, who resigned on Christmas Day in 1991. Mr. Yeltsin parted from it only once during his term in office - in 1996, when he underwent heart surgery and turned over his powers briefly to the then Prime Minister, Mr. Viktor Chernomyrdin. ``The nuclear button is an effective mechanism to control Russian nuclear forces and also a symbol of the presidency,'' the former Yeltsin Press Secretary, Mr. Sergei Yastrzhembsky said when asked to describe the device.

The briefcase is carried behind Mr. Yeltsin by an officer dressed in a distinctive black navy uniform which makes it easy for the President to single him out in a crowd. But all information about it has been classified until lately. A senior Parliament member, Mr. Alexei Arbatov, has described the nuclear button as the first link in a chain of commands ending in onboard cruise computers of nuclear missiles. ``The nuclear button...transmits Presidential sanction for the use of nuclear weapons to command centres where general staff officers are on duty around the clock,'' said Mr. Arbatov, an expert on national security with close ties to the Kremlin.

``On receiving a coded signal, officers...using appropriate codes, determine that it was the President who sent it, rather than someone else.''

When the authenticity of the Presidential message is confirmed, duty officers open safes containing their own codes and send them to missile launch pads and nuclear submarines.

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