Eye Surgeon Announces Bid
- By Unknown
- Feb. 06 1996 00:00
"The president's current policy is leading us nowhere. It is leading us down a blind alley, to wild capitalism, to becoming a Third World colony supplying raw materials,'' Fyodorov told a news conference.
Fyodorov, 68, is a wealthy man who projects a can-do image, and he ranks in polls as one of Russia's most respected politicians. He unveiled a platform Monday calling for more social benefits for working people and for measures such as profit-sharing and larger roles for workers in company management.
His supporters hope the fame and respect he commands will make him a powerful player in elections next June, perhaps grabbing a portion of the centrist and liberal vote.
"Svyatoslav Fyodorov will create a sort of third force, a third way for Russia,'' political commentator Oleg Rumyantsev said, describing Fyodorov as a social democrat.
Fyodorov's Workers' Self-Government Party did poorly in the December parliament elections.