MOSCOW : Showdown at the Kremlin

To the diehard Communists of the Soviet Union, its dissolution late last year after the collapse of socialism not only was a mistake of historic proportions but an unconstitutional seizure of power by radicals. Today, they will attempt to reverse it.

Communist hard-liners plan to convene an emergency session of the old Soviet Congress of People’s Deputies to challenge the legitimacy of Russian President Boris N. Yeltsin’s regime. Although the government has prohibited the meeting, about 1,400 of the 2,250 deputies have reportedly pledged to attend.

Also today, a coalition of pro-Communist, Orthodox Christian and Russian nationalist groups, combined in the “United Opposition” to denounce Yeltsin’s policies, is planning a mass rally outside the Kremlin.