Alliance bolsters party leaders' influence Yeltsin's political vital signs fading

MOSCOW Mintimer Shaimiev, president of the central Russianrepublic of Tatarstan, is one of the few politicians to haveoutsmarted Russian President Boris Yeltsin.

In the early 1990s, Shaimiev publicly toyed with the idea ofdeclaring independent his largely Muslim, oil-rich republic. But herelented and struck a favorable deal with the Kremlin instead. Whileremaining within the Russian Federation, Tatarstan wrested almostcomplete autonomy from Moscow.

This week, Shaimiev has played a similar game of brinkmanship withthe Kremlin and its outcome could prove even more momentous. Asleader of the All Russia group of regional governors, Shaimiev hasforged a political alliance …