The report from Pravda a week ago, circulated by Laura Wilson-Perry, that
the more a Russian drinks, the more he or she is likely to support
President Yeltsin, follows on from the national outpouring of grief at the
end of January over the death of Vladimir Yamnikov, head of the Kristall
vodka factory. According to newspaper reports, thousands visited the
factory in order to pay homage to Yamnikov, and he was given all the pomp
of a state funeral. As for Yeltsin himself, there is the story in Stephen
White's book, Russia Goes Dry, that, following the notorious incident in
which he missed an appointment with the Irish Prime Minister at Shannon
Airport as a result of excessive indulgence in in-flight refreshment,
Yeltsin came to be described by the former vice-president, Alexander
Rutskoi, as being in a "permanent state of visiting Ireland".