What Boris Yeltsin looked like throughout 1996 was as much a story as what he did. He dropped from view for weeks at a time, and when he appeared his image was scrutinized for clues on his health. Which was the real Yeltsin? The one who appeared pale and stiff -- or not at all -- or the energetic campaigner who tried to dance with kids one-third his age?
Yeltsin faced a tough re-election bid, challenged by Gennady Zyuganov, the leader of the Communist Party which had won control of Parliament the year before; Alexander Lebed, a military hero; the flamboyant ultra-nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky; and even the man whose overthrow he had engineered, Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet president.
Yeltsin biggest foes, perhaps, were his staggering unpopularity and doubts about his health. When the campaign began the reformer who was once the most popular man in Russia was at rock-bottom in the polls. Russians were angry with the economy and the war in Chechnya.
As for his health -- the official explanation for his disappearances was that he had a cold or was tired. Only after the election did the government admit he'd had a heart attack during the campaign.
How, then, did end up winning?
He was able to make the election a referendum on freedom and the free-market as opposed to Communism, which many Russians associated with rationing and repression. He ran a slick Western-style campaign in which he used his control of television and the powers of his office to his advantage. When Alexander Lebed finished a strong third June 16 in the first round of voting he made him his national security advisor.
On July 3, Yeltsin won a surprising 54 percent of the vote, to Zyuganovs 40 percent -- confirmation that Russia would not return to Communism anytime soon. Yeltsin was not often seen in the following months. In November, he had a successful quintuple heart-bypass operation.
"I am ready for battle," he said just before he left the hospital. There are challenges ahead for Yeltsin and for Russia; but there is no doubt he has already won one of the biggest battles of his life -- defeating Communism for a second time, and staying in office against overwhelming odds.