Ex-Yeltsin Buddy Ready For Revenge

The man whom President Boris N. Yeltsin sacked as his chief bodyguard last summer wound up the first part of his comeback plan on Monday by winning a parliamentary seat from the central Russian town of Tula.

Now Russians are waiting nervously to see how quickly the triumphant Alexander V. Korzhakov, whose place in parliament gives him immunity from prosecution, will carry out part two of his plan - to get revenge on his many political enemies by revealing the secrets he learned as a Kremlin insider.

“Anyone who’s got anything to fear from such revelations should be scared,” smirked the round-faced Korzhakov, interviewed on Russian television as news of his 26 percent win was released.

Korzhakov knows more Kremlin secrets than most. Until liberals managed to squeeze him from power last summer, the former mechanic and KGB man controlled all access to the president. His loyalty to Yeltsin over 11 years of service made him the president’s most trusted aide, friend and drinking buddy.