HOW AMERICANS HELPED YELTSIN WIN

"The strategy and tactics employed by the U.S. team of political advisers better befit the selling of soap than the election of a President." LENNARD B. WEINGARTEN Ferney-Voltaire, France

Your article "Rescuing Boris" was a remarkable story of how a population can be changed, directed or led by the visual and printed media [WORLD, July 15]. How different the world would be if Czar Nicholas II had been able to acquire this group of outside advisers to guide him, rather than Rasputin! GEORGE MOON Southfield, Michigan

What arrogance! as if we Americans had anything good to export. In our own presidential election campaigns, we typically deal in character assassination and trivia instead of the real issues. Your story on how American consultants helped Boris Yeltsin design his re-election strategy will leave the Russian people feeling duped and betrayed, further alienating them from Yeltsin without gaining any Brownie points for the U.S. Imagine that the tables are turned: Bill Clinton wins the election in November, and Pravda prints a major story on how a bunch of Russians sitting in a hotel room in Washington drank vodka and guided his campaign. These musketeers are then credited with achieving Clinton's victory. Unthinkable, isn't it? HANS G. ROENAU Tiburon, California

Again the U.S. has come to the rescue of a corrupt puppet, a man disliked by his own people because he has brought them only misery. You said, "Democracy triumphed." Hardly! ESTELA GIBSON Cypress, California

Now that Yeltsin has won, what's next? The direction of Russia's future development depends on whether the two groups within the Establishment manage to coexist peacefully. One group is made up of people who were able to get rich during Yeltsin's rule. The other group, mainly supporters of communist Gennadi Zyuganov, consists of former members of the nomenklatura who were left out when the country's wealth was divided. Their main purpose and political motivation are the redistribution of the country's wealth so that they too can get rich. Whether it is communism that achieves that goal or something else, they do not really care. If Yeltsin decides to accommodate them by co-opting some of their leaders into his government, Russia will move smoothly toward prosperity. If not, some form of social unrest is inevitable. SABIRZYAN BADERTINOV New York City

As a Soviet emigre, I find it ironic and sad that the Russians, still trapped in a classic Soviet mind-set of blind trust in official propaganda, are easily manipulated by their current "free" press and "democratic" government. All it took for Yeltsin to win the election was several weeks of heavy pounding with negative TV ads and grossly biased campaign coverage. That was enough to persuade rookie voters to re-elect their leader, Yeltsin, who was so unpopular just a few months ago. Did they really have a choice? MICHAEL BUSHEL Pacifica, California

I worked with Russian political parties in 1994 and '95, and I want to stress that Russians ran the '96 campaign and Russians won the election. By now, Russian political activists have sufficient experience in using Western campaign technology, including formulating a main message and using focus groups for testing political ads. Your article made it appear that the election team consisted of four Americans, candidate Yeltsin and his daughter. A more accurate picture would include roughly 1,000 activists from different political parties who pulled together to make sure the communists did not take back all the advances that Russia has made on its difficult journey to democracy. The real story of American influence on the process of democratization in Russia lies with those who have spent years working with thousands of Russian political-party activists around the country. You did a great disservice to these people by inflating the role of a few American political consultants, flown in for a few months, with no knowledge of the country. SARAH E. MENDELSON Assistant Professor of Political Science State University of New York Albany, New York

Now I understand why the Russian people don't trust Boris, and why the American people have developed such a disdain for politics. DAVID A. KRAFT Clarence, New York

The aid given to Yeltsin's campaign by U.S. politicos experienced in misleading the people and betraying democracy recalls the final sentence of George Orwell's antitotalitarian fable, Animal Farm: "The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which." J. QUINN BRISBEN Chicago

I simply could not put this story down until I had finished every word. It was like reading a William F. Buckley Jr. cold war novel, and the stakes were even higher. Once again, spasiba! BOB WATERS Hartford, Vermont

When the history of the Russian election is written, the American consultants will occupy only a small footnote. For those of us who observed the process over many months, the claims of the consultants are highly exaggerated. It is hard to imagine that a group of American political advisers who did not speak the language, had no background in the country or Russian culture and did not meet with any of the key figures in the campaign (except for occasional contact with Yeltsin's daughter) would ultimately have much impact. GREGORY GUROFF, Senior Associate Center for Post-Soviet Studies Chevy Chase, Maryland

DOLE'S DECISION MAKING

I'm surprised you forgot a major aspect of Bob Dole's position on tobacco, gun control and other issues [NATION, July 15]: once he makes up his mind, he seems to be full of indecision. JOSEPH B. MIRSKY West Palm Beach, Florida

UNIONS: HELPING OR HURTING?

I am outraged that the AFL-CIO has the audacity to compare its selfish and destructive union-organizing campaign with the civil rights "Freedom Summer" of 1964 [BUSINESS, July 15]. Labor unions are a dinosaur. In the first part of the century they were a necessary evil, but they are no longer needed. The AFL-CIO should accept the fact that it is an anachronism and drift quietly into obscurity. Unions, while preaching the altruistic intent of helping the low-skilled worker, actually cause fewer jobs suitable for such workers to be created. ELIJAH C. MARENTETTE Boston

We are employees of Los Angeles' New Otani Hotel. You erred in saying that the union campaign at the hotel is an organizing effort by its mostly Latino employees. Instead, the campaign is being conducted by Local 11 of the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Union and its supporters. Only a few hotel employees are involved. Most of us who work at the New Otani, not only Latinos, would like to vote in a government election to bring this union campaign to an end. But Local 11 will not let us vote, even though it can request an election. We wish to exercise our right to vote to choose if we want this union in our workplace or if we want to leave things the way they are. MERCEDES MANJAREZ EMMA S. GUICO Los Angeles

The AFL-CIO is breeding a new generation of union militants who promote economic terrorism. It will be interesting to see just how much "help" the employees of the New Otani Hotel will be getting from the union organizers when they put it out of business and the workers have no jobs. By that time the student protesters will be back in the safe confines of their college dormitories, telling stories of how they spent the summer "helping" the less fortunate. Before one demonstration, a union organizer prompts, "Don't worry, just have fun." Have fun harassing tourists, accosting nonunion workers on their jobs and ruining people's weddings. Now, there's a fine way to spend a summer vacation. KEITH MAZZONI Export, Pennsylvania

GETTING INTO THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT

Citizens of Atlanta, I come here not to castigate you but to comfort you [OLYMPICS, July 15]! Prior to the 1984 Olympic Summer Games, many Los Angeles residents faced concerns similar to the ones described in Steve Wulf's story: traffic congestion, skyrocketing building costs, silly architecture, a lame-looking mascot and much fretting about what would become of the city once the Games were over. And what did happen? Strangely, none of the problems that had all the worriers wiping their brows. In fact, the darn thing worked. Weren't the 1984 Games among the most successful ever? It's time to stop fretting and start generating some positive Olympian spirit! God of Sun, be with them! Citius! Altius! Coolius! JIM KOCHER Glendale, California Via E-mail

You incorrectly attributed the design of the Olympic Stadium to HOK Sport of Kansas City. As you stated, HOK was the architect for Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as other highly acclaimed ballparks, like Jacobs Field in Cleveland, Ohio, and Coors Field in Denver; however, HOK Sport did not participate in the planning or design of any facilities for the Atlanta Games. We are known for distinctive sports facilities that are well suited to their purpose as well as sensitive to the surrounding community. Your critical comments about Atlanta's Olympic Stadium improperly reflect on our firm. Thank you for setting the record straight. RONALD J. LABINSKI, Senior Vice President HOK Sports Facilities Group Kansas City, Missouri

OBSESSED WITH GROWTH

It has always astonished me how the U.S. (and the rest of the world) looks at economic growth [BUSINESS, July 15] as a magic solution for every problem. People do not see that the more a country grows and consumes, the more it generates waste, pollutes the planet and exhausts the earth's natural resources. Why do economists and politicians think the economy can continuously grow without severe consequences? What the U.S. needs is much better distribution of income, not more affluence. CARLOS GABAGLIA PENNA Rio de Janeiro Via E-mail

HEMINGWAY'S TORMENTED LIFE

I was deeply disappointed in your superficial treatment of Margaux Hemingway's life and death [SHOW BUSINESS, July 15]. Any good psychiatrist would tell you that her cluster of disorders--bulimia, alcoholism, epilepsy and psychosis--are related to the major depressive illnesses that continue to ravage her family and that have caused four suicides in just two generations. Her short, tormented life deserved at least some thoughtful commentary on the crippling psychiatric illnesses that are part of her family tree. NANCY M. KENDALL Auburn, Maine

I am a recovering victim of depression, and Hemingway's story made me realize how difficult it is for those afflicted with this dread illness to persevere and deal with life's pressures. Her long fight must have required incredible strength; others if placed in her shoes might have given up a long time ago. She must have been strong, because she looked for many solutions to her depression. But in the final analysis, Hemingway didn't solve her problems. How does a person faced with depression like hers move on? The most important answer is to have faith in oneself and in others. JAMES S. VACCA Huntington, New York

I question your statement that Hemingway was recently "reduced to taking parts in low-budget pictures, making guest appearances at European conventions" and even (God forbid!) endorsing the Psychic Friends Network. Sounds to me like she was working, something that remains honorable and dignified. ROBERT J. F. PACE Monterey, California Via E-mail

A PILL FOR EVERYTHING

The use of a morning-after drug to avoid pregnancy after unprotected sex [HEALTH, July 15] seems to be the new trend for our promiscuous American society. It serves as a green light for those who practice irresponsible sex. Now people can just cruise on down the streets without stopping. The birth-control pill is a much needed savior for those caught up in the fear of pregnancy from a broken condom or for victims of rape. But it should be used in situations in which people had little or no control over pregnancy. Now everyone will be popping the medication like candy, saying, "Don't worry. I'll just take a pill tomorrow." Technology and science come through once again to save us from our recklessness. The more irresponsible we are in our lives, the more we look for quick fixes and excuses. DOUG MOWBRAY Ridge, New Hampshire

If morning-after oral contraceptives are for "emergencies," do you have to call 911 to get them? God forbid that anybody should think about pregnancy the night before! GINA WATKINS Bakersfield, California

EXCAVATING THE PYRAMIDS

Your report on the re-excavation and opening of Egypt's Dahshur pyramids to the public was brilliant [Archaeology, July 22]. I regret, however, the disparaging way in which American archaeologists engaged in the recent work spoke of their predecessor on the site, French archaeologist Jacques de Morgan. One called his methods "very crude." Of course De Morgan's digging techniques of 100 years ago were not up to our modern standards, but no excavations of that time were. Compared with the work of his contemporaries, De Morgan's excavations were certainly outstanding. De Morgan was a pioneer in the study of the prehistory of Egypt before the Pharaohs. Next year an exhibit at the Louvre will retrace his career. ANNIE CAUBET, General Conservator Department of Eastern Antiquities Louvre Museum Paris