Communist Leader Draws Up Characters Of Year List

Russian Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov has drawn up a list of the leading characters of the year. He named Islamic militant Osama bin Laden and US President George W. Bush as people of the year to an online conference. "Both have worked hard to destroy the entire system of international relations," the Communist Party leader typed in. He also designated former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic as a person of the year. Inside the country, Oryol Region Governor Yegor Stroyev and Tula Governor Vassily Starodubtsev received Zyuganov's special mention, as did the editor of the virulently nationalist Zavtra weekly, Alexander Prokhanov. Zyuganov predicted the new year "will discover quite a lot of new faces" in the nation. Commenting on the coming year, the Communist leader said that since the year 2002 is the year of the Horse by the Oriental calendar, people need "to work honestly, hold the reins firmly, and steer them right," he pronounced.