Gorbachev Urges New Elections for a New Russia

Former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev said Thursday that Russia should hold new elections for both president and Parliament to reflect rapidly changing times.

President Boris N. Yeltsin and the Russian Parliament were elected when the Soviet Union still existed, he noted.

“It was a different country and a different situation,” he told a news conference in Calgary, Alberta.

Now, others--such as former Communists currently out of office--should be given the chance to govern, Gorbachev said.

Gorbachev was in Alberta for an international symposium and to sign a funding agreement between his think tank, the Gorbachev Foundation, and the University of Calgary.