ALTHOUGH he emerged from the first round of the presidential election only slightly ahead of his communist opponent, Boris Yeltsin was more successful than Gennady Zyuganov last week in building up the additional support each candidate needs if he is to achieve victory in the run off.
Seeing that retired Gen Alexander Lebed had done surprisingly well by coming third on a law and order platform, Mr Yeltsin seized the political initiative and co-opted the new star, making him his national security adviser.
Immediately, Gen Lebed began cleaning out the Kremlin like a bottle of extra strength lavatory fluid. The nasty germs in the eyes of most Russians the corrupt presidential bodyguards, the head of the security services and the Defence Minister who had pursued the war in Chechnya were all flushed out.
The move was not without risk for Mr Yeltsin, for he now has a group of disgruntled hardliners sulking on the sidelines. But it has worked wonders for his election chances.
Most of the people who voted for Gen Lebed in the first round are now likely to transfer their support to Mr Yeltsin. Followers of the liberal economist, Mr Grigory Yavlinsky, will also be pleased by the rout of the hawks and inclined to forgive the Kremlin leader for, as they see it, having betrayed democracy and the reform process when he was under the influence of the "party of war".
Meanwhile, Mr Zyuganov has stood still. He can rely on the constituency of mainly elderly people, who always turn out to vote for him, but he has not added to his electorate, which should have been his main task in the period between the two rounds.
Analysts are now saying that the communists have only an outside chance of winning, while Mr Yeltsin is virtually assured of returning to the Kremlin for another four years if. .. There is a big if. That is if the turnout is healthy and under no circumstances dropped below 60 per cent.
Voters get weary in two round elections. All over the world one can observe the phenomenon of turnout declining after the enthusiasm of the first round. But in Russia, there is also the "dacha factor".
To Russians who spend the long winter in polluted cities, relaxing at their dachas or country cottages in summer is sacred. Those who have urban jobs go out every weekend, but others, such as housewives or teachers with long holidays, move out for the entire season. It's not just a question of sun.
They produce vegetables in their gardens on which they will live for the rest of the year.
In the first round, Mr Yeltsin lost at least one vote because of the dacha factor. Moscow musician Vitaly Matveyev, out at his father's allotment in a village called Druzhba (Friendship), south of the city, planned to travel into the capital on the Elecvrichka (suburban railway) to re-elect the president. But on the morning of June 16th, when he saw the sun shining after days of rain, he changed his mind. "The wild strawberries are just coming out," he said. "I am sure the fate of Russia does not depend on my little voice.
The older generation, many of them communist voters, were more disciplined. Vitaly's father, Mikhail Alexeyevich, a pensioner, rose at six in the morning and walked for an hour across muddy fields tot catch the bus into town to
He combined casting his for Gen Lebed with having a bath for the first time in two weeks, because there is no running water at his dacha. His neighbour, an engineer called Viktor Frolov, watered his cucumbers before driving to Moscow, a journey of two hours to vote for Mr Zyuganov.
Early in the evening, there was panic at Mr Yeltsin's campaign headquarters as the turn out was low not only because of the dacha factor but because many voters were glued to the European championship match between Russia and Germany on TV and it looked as if the president might be knocked out in the first round.
Leading artists appealed to people to vote. "I am frankly surprised at the apathy of my fellow countrymen," said the famous ballerina, Ekaterina Maximova, who flew in from Germany to support Mr Yeltsin.
The public got the message. Huge traffic jams built up as dachniki (dacha dwellers) rushed home to vote. Some were late and queues of voters were turned away as the polls closed. To avoid this chaos again, the second round of voting has been set for July 3rd, a Wednesday, when more people are likely to be in town. The law had to be changed to allow for mid week voting.
Even with the vote set for a Wednesday, the Yeltsin camp cannot afford to be complacent. The race will be close. Mr Yeltsin must hope this time every citizen feels his or her little voice really does count.