A ‘Modest’ Swearing In for Yeltsin Today : Russia: Federation forgoes the pomp of old for a ‘simple and democratic’ ceremony.

In the old days, when the ruler of Russia took power, he would ride through the streets casting coins among his new subjects, and the country would throw itself into days of drunken feasting.

But when Boris N. Yeltsin takes his oath of office today, he will become not a czar but a president, and the 6,000 guests expected to cram the Kremlin’s Palace of Congresses will be witnessing not Russia’s latest coronation but its first-ever inauguration of a popularly elected leader.

In the month since his election, Yeltsin’s staff has scrambled to write the scenario for today’s unprecedented ceremony, and what they have come up with is a far cry from the glittering pomp of old.

“The idea is that it will be solemn and have a big connection with history but at the same time be simple and democratic,” said Andrei Kolosovsky, deputy foreign minister of the Russian Federation, the Soviet Union’s largest republic. “We’re not trying to portray a new czar--we want to portray President Yeltsin as a democratic leader of the people.”

Yeltsin himself has insisted that the ceremony be “maximally modest,” said Eduard Gusev, a top official in the cultural section of the Russian Federation government.

“He is a humble man and he doesn’t like ribbons,” said Gusev, who helped organize Wednesday’s ceremony. “He’s the people’s choice, so he shouldn’t be any different from the people.”

Yeltsin’s own character also influenced the decision to have him take the presidential oath with his hand on the Russian constitution and its Declaration of Sovereignty rather than on a Bible.

Although the Russian cultural tradition that Yeltsin is trying to revive involves deep roots in the Russian Orthodox Church, “a Bible would be difficult because Yeltsin is not religious,” Kolosovsky said.

And Yeltsin’s worries about the republic’s economic crisis precluded the feasting and celebrating of czarist days, officials said.

“Yeltsin himself has emphasized many times that he was elected president in a very difficult time,” Kolosovsky said, “and his task is to make possible the people’s celebration in the future. Now, it’s more like the beginning of work.”

The deputy foreign minister said the ceremony will be so low-key that Moscow’s diplomatic corps has not even been invited, although Yeltsin’s team has taken care to invite representatives of all the main Soviet political factions, as well as dignitaries from other Soviet republics.

With new conflicts threatening in the Russian Federation’s 1,060-member Congress, which convenes immediately after the inauguration, Yeltsin will immediately find his presidential hands full, his aides said.

Nezavisimaya Gazeta, a popular Moscow newspaper, predicted Tuesday that Yeltsin’s new powers as president, including the ability to issue decrees, will make his relations with the Congress deteriorate fast.

A battle is already shaping up over who will succeed Yeltsin as chairman of the Parliament, his former post, and his announced plans to reshape the structure of local governments all across the gigantic republic are also expected to face conservative resistance.

But this morning, Yeltsin, who won the June 11 vote with a resounding 57%, will simply be the man of the hour.

Russian Television reported Tuesday night that Yeltsin is “very excited” and looking forward to getting to work after his inauguration.

“The main thing is that very fierce work will begin,” Yeltsin said. “We will issue a law on property in Russia, and we won’t bargain any more with the (Soviet) Union.”

The new Russian president has been granted a choice suite of offices in the Kremlin, and the red and blue Russian flag will be raised during today’s ceremony to fly over the building, officials said.

In the Russian Federation government building on the Moscow River, a towering marble structure nicknamed the White House, officials said they have already shuffled offices around so that Yeltsin can also have the biggest suite there.