Boris Yeltsin's failing health has forced him to loosen his hold on the reins of power. Once a workaholic, he gave up day-to-day running of the country in October 1998 and now lives at his country residence, visiting the Kremlin only for a few hours at a time.

He was first elected Russian president in 1991, and won a second term in 1996 after suffering a heart attack at the end of an exhausting campaign. Following a quintuple heart bypass operation later that year, his behaviour and public statements became increasingly unpredictable.

Despite the 68-year-old president's impending retirement, he and his team are nonetheless keen to make sure that Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who comes from the Yeltsin family's inner circle, will win the presidency in June 2000 elections. They are delighted with the results of the December parliamentary election, which have guaranteed that loyalists are well represented in the new legislature.