PRESIDENT Yeltsin is due to go on radio this morning to issue a "state of the nation broadcast" which will include references to the economy as well as NATO's eastward expansion.
The fact that the broadcast will be on radio only is part of a trend which has emerged since Mr Yeltsin dropped out of public view with what Kremlin officials described as a "sore throat" last June.
When he addresses the Russian people it is usually done by voice only when his picture appears on television there is usually no accompanying sound track. Picture and sound together are shown only on extremely rare occasions, the last one having been a brief clip during the visit of President Chirac to Moscow two weeks ago.
His meeting with Mr Chirac resulted in what was described as an "understanding" rather than an "agreement" on NATO's eastward expansion. Mr Chirac has proposed a five power conference on the issue with Russia in attendance, a suggestion which has not been welcomed by the US.
Mr Yeltsin is due to meet President Clinton with NATO high on the agenda at a summit scheduled for Helsinki next month. However, with Kremlin sources now admitting that Mr Yeltsin's recovery from heart surgery and double pneumonia is much slower than expected, there must be some doubt that the summit meeting will go ahead.
In the meantime, Gen Alexander Lebed, the communist leader Mr Gennady Zyuganov, the Prime Minister Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin, and the Mayor of Moscow, Mr Yuri Luzhkov, are making shapes as possible future presidents of Russia.
Of these, Mr Chernomyrdin - the candidate closest to Mr Yeltsin - is by far the worst off in public opinion polls, and pro Yeltsin deputies, worried about the President's continuing health problems, are talking about changes in the constitution including legislation to allow Mr Chernomyrdin to serve out Mr Yeltsin's term in the event of the latter's death.
In a major climb down yesterday the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian parliament, opted for a motion calling on Mr Yeltsin to resign rather than one to impeach him. Resignation is a word which does not exist in Mr Yeltsin's political vocabulary.
