Also satisfied were hard-core Communists, who sought at every stage to erode Mr. Yeltsin's power.

But such leaders lived in a kind of Red limbo, for the hard-core Communists never trusted them enough to give them any significant role in the game.

But they drew catcalls and boos from the hard-core Communists.

Thwarted in their attempt to oust the President, hard-core Communists in the Congress mounted a new attack, calling for a debate on "censorship of the state-owned media."

The deputies are holed up with several hundred hard-core Communists and nationalists.

He went to the infamous Son-La forced-labour camp in the jungle on the Thai border where hard-core Communists were able to indoctrinate their fellow convicts.

All are leaders of the National Salvation Front, which unites hard-core Communists and militant nationalists.

The Congress voted to meet again on Sunday, and hard-core Communists quickly signaled a new assault in which they were certain to try to exploit Mr. Yeltsin's appearance with accusations that he was drunk.

The main ones are the separatist-minded Northern League and the Communist Refounding, the party of Italy's hard-core Communists, both of which seemed to be doing better than expected.

Prime Minister Romano Prodi handed in his resignation after a small party of hard-core Communists withdrew the support his center-left coalition needed to maintain a parliamentary majority.