Duma Mania

Duma Mania

Shuffling the Deck, Jockeying for Position

Duma elections (see Russian Life, Sep/Oct 2003) are set for December 7. In the final weeks of the nationwide electoral race, key players have been hastily changing names and forming new blocs. Life and Rebirth became as one when The Party of Life, headed by Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov, agreed to form an electoral bloc with the Party of Russia’s Rebirth, led by State Duma Chairman Gennady Seleznev. The chairmen have managed to attract a very interesting mix of public figures into their new bloc. Among them are the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, Bolshoi theatersoloist Nikolai Baskov, and ex-Miss Universe and Interior Ministry officer Oksana Fyodorova.