RUSSIA: MOSCOW: PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN RETURNS TO KREMLIN

(23 Dec 1996) Russian/Nat

Russian President Boris Yeltsin has returned to his office at the Kremlin on Monday declaring himself "ready for battle".

He's been on the political sidelines for the last six months with heart trouble.

The 65-year-old Russian leader faces a busy week including meetings with his defence and security councils.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin's motorcade speeded through the snow covered streets of Moscow early on Monday morning.

His limousine entered the Kremlin shortly after 9:30 a.m. (0630 GMT) Monday.

The president's return effectively marks the start of his second term - he had a heart attack just days before his July 3rd re-election victory.

Yeltsin declared himself "full of energy and strength" after his November 5th quintuple bypass.

SOUNDBITE: (Russian)
"I am in a good mood, feeling well, ready for battle. As for the first tasks, I've already outlined them in my TV address - to deal with salaries, pensions, the army, and other questions. The next year is going to be better than this one, I am sure of that."
SUPERCAPTION: Russian President Boris Yeltsin

Since then, he has made only rare public appearances. But doctors
say he is making a full recovery from his surgery and should be able
to maintain a normal work schedule, as long as he doesn't overdo it.

The 65-year-old Russian leader was getting impatient with convalescence - and with the government's failure to resolve nagging social problems like unpaid wages and uncollected taxes.

"There's no time to waste," he said in a television address Friday.

Still, it remains unclear whether Yeltsin can infuse life into policies that have failed to solve some of Russia's most critical problems: a shrinking economy, millions of workers who have been unpaid for months and lingering tensions in the breakaway Chechen republic.

In five years as president, Yeltsin has not done much of the nuts-and-bolts work of running the government and has offered few ideas for solving Russia's economic and social woes.

Yeltsin has said the wage crisis, the tax crisis and army reform
would be top priorities when he returned to work. The ITAR-Tass news agency said he planned to meet with top security officials as well as the tax commission this week.

Interfax said he would meet with his chief of staff, Anatoly Chubais, on Monday, and with Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin on Tuesday, their regular conference day.

Yeltsin returns to work just as Russians are preparing to celebrate New Year's, one of the most festive annual holidays, and he sought to assure them Monday that things would improve with him back at the helm.

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