Da, Da, Nyet, Da

IF BORIS YELTSIN'S SUPPORTERS HAD DOUBTS ABOUT how to vote in Sunday's four- question referendum, the Kremlin provided the right answers in the right order, using actors and nursery-school kids in catchy TV commercials. More substantively, the embattled Russian President was helped by a Constitutional Court decision allowing him to claim victory if he gets only a simple majority in the national vote of confidence. Not taking chances, Yeltsin's team launched a final, Western-style media blitz, with pop stars rocking for reform in a Kremlin concert and a televised look at his modest apartment.

If he wins, Yeltsin promises to take "tough steps" to end Russia's power struggle. The battle has spread beyond the parliament. His rebellious Vice President, Alexander Rutskoi, has launched his own campaign against the reforms, claiming he has "suitcases" of evidence of official corruption. An angered Yeltsin compared his former ally's sense of honor to "a dirty cleaning rag."