Campaigning in Perm Oblast, President Boris Yeltsin unveiled his long-awaited election platform, in which he promises to finish political and economic reforms begun during the last five years, ITAR-TASS and Reuters reported on 31 May. As is his usual practice, he warned of the dangers of a Communist comeback, reminding supporters, ``In recent years, we have begun to forget what empty shelves are''. The 31 May issue of Izvestiya previewed the president's platform, which is 250 pages long. In the political sphere, it promises to support civil society, strengthen the multi-party system, and protect freedom of the press and voters' rights. Concerning economic policy, the platform admits that Yeltsin has made mistakes in recent years but promises, among other things, to protect citizens' incomes from inflation and ``dishonest commercial structures'', enact tax and agrarian reform, and implement an industrial policy to protect domestic producers. --- Laura Belin

Before arriving in Perm, Yeltsin spent two days in the largely agricultural Republic of Bashkortostan, Russian media reported on 30 May. Claiming that the deal he recently concluded in Chechnya will lead to lasting peace there, he pledged to support friendship among different nationalities. (The population of Bashkortostan is about 39% ethnic Russian, 28% Tatar, and 22% Bashkir.) Visiting a state collective farm, Yeltsin promised to support private farming but not to force collectives to disband. The president also displayed his improvisational skills, dancing at a 29 May rock concert and joking with university students at a rally the next day. In the 1995 parliamentary election, parties whose leaders now support Gennadii Zyuganov gained nearly 50% of the vote in Bashkortostan. --- Laura Belin

31 мая 1996г. Радио ``Свобода'' / ``Свободная Европа'' --- Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty