His Health Isn’t Failing, Yeltsin Says
President Boris N. Yeltsin assailed Russia’s conservative parliament Wednesday and denied reports that his health is failing and his grip on power slackening.
“I don’t know where these rumors are coming from that my health is waning,” Yeltsin told journalists, reacting to a report published in a conservative Russian newspaper last week. “I am completely healthy and feel in excellent form.”
Yeltsin, 62, walked slowly but steadily from his aircraft to speak to journalists after arriving in this city to join in celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of an important World War II victory over Nazi forces in a tank battle.
Yeltsin used the occasion to hit back at the Parliament, which during his vacation passed resolutions aimed at frustrating government reforms.
Referring to the April 25 referendum in which he secured popular support for his reform program, he said the anti-reform policies of the opposition “were provocative and directed against the people.”
He criticized Parliament for approving a huge budget deficit and trying to stall privatization of state firms.
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