Lebed, the only person in Russia who is `sober on principle'

BORIS Nikolayevich Yeltsin: President of the Russian Federation. Born February 1st, 1931, at Butko, near Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg) in the Urals.

A civil engineer by profession he has been a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and President of the Russian Federation since 1991.

Mr Yeltsin promises a continuation of economic reforms, but his democratic credentials have been severely tarnished. Has had a number of heart attacks and says he drinks "moderately".

Gennnady Andreyevich Zyuganov: Leader of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. Born June 26th, 1944, in the village of Mymrino near the city of Oryol, south of Moscow.

A maths teacher by profession, he is a former deputy head of ideology in the CPSU. He has steered his party towards a nationalistic course which helped it win the parliamentary elections in December 1995. He promises renationalisation of large military industries.

An intensely dull man, he says he drinks less, that Boris Yeltsin and more than Mikhail Gorbachev".

Alexander Ivanovich Lebed: Retired army general. Born April 20th, 1950, in Novocherkassk in southern Russia, he promises an end to crime and a return to order. On Christmas Day 1993 he gave up drinking and now describes himself as the only person in Russia who is "sober on principle".

Grigory Alekseyevich Yavlinsky: The only western style democrat in the field. Born April 10th, 1952, in Lvov, Ukraine. He was once well ahead of Mr Yeltsin in the polls but the lead slipped due to the presidential dominance of television and Mr Yavlinsky's poor campaign. Promises to make Russia a true democracy, to maintain market reforms and to end the war in Chechnya.

Vladimir Wolfovich Zhirinovsky: Extreme right winger, television personality and the "wild card" of the campaign. Born April 25th, 1946, in Alma Ata (now Almaty), Kazakhstan.

The flamboyant Mr Zhirinovsky, who has taken to parading himself in the streets of Moscow in a lurid yellow jacket, promises a return of the Tsarist Russian Empire. Says he may not win now but will be president in the year 2000. You have been warned.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev: Former president of the Soviet Union, Nobel Prize winner and Time magazine's man of the decade in the 1980s. Born March 2nd, 1931, Privolnoye, Stavropol, southern Russia. Has no chance of being elected and is likely to get only 2 per cent of the vote.

Sviatoslav Nikolayevich Fyodorov: World famous eye surgeon. Born August 8th, 1927, in Proskurov (now Khmelnitsy), Ukraine. He advocates a unique mixture of socialism and capitalism.

Yuri Petrovich Vlasov: Born December 5th, 1935, near Donetsk, Ukraine. Olympic gold medallist in weight lifting in 1960. Does not appear to have a coherent programme but wants Russia to be great again. No chance.

Vladimir Alexeyevich Bryntsalov: Born November 23rd, 1946, in Cherkassk near Krasnodar, southern Russia. An eccentric millionaire who owns "between 15 and 20" Mercedes cars, "has sex three times a day", tells Russians he has stolen their money and promises to put a picture of his wife's bottom on election posters on polling day.

Would you buy a used Mercedes from this man?

Martin Lutsianovich Shakkum: Born September 21st, 1951, in Krasnogorsk near Moscow. No Muscovite has ruled Russia in modern history and neither will Shakkum. A scientist, he has appeared on television in an apparent state of intoxication.

An 11th candidate, Aman Tuleyev, withdrew this week in favour of Mr Zyuganov.