Runway Diplomacy

By Sally B. Donnelly/Washington

Coming back from a quick trip to Asia late last month, Secretary of State MADELEINE ALBRIGHT'S plane made a normal refueling stop--in Yekaterinburg, Russia. The city has historical significance: it's where locals executed the last Russian Czar on orders from Lenin in 1918. Little did Albright know the locals are still pretty rigorous about following directions.

Despite a prohibition against travelers' deplaning without a visa, Albright breezily suggested aides get off and stretch their legs. As stern-looking border guards in drab green uniforms stood watch, two of Albright's top staff members were dispatched to ask permission politely for all to get off the aircraft. Nyet was the official reply. So Albright, the former professor and Democratic Party player, decided to teach the hard-liners about hardball politics. She marched down the stairs, greeting the surprised guards with a few choice Russian words; they let her pass. She suggested she might dial up old chum IGOR IVANOV--a.k.a. the Russian Foreign Minister--if her 40-person entourage was not allowed off the plane; the Russians acquiesced. Within minutes, the Albright party was browsing in the terminal. Then suddenly the region's most powerful man, the Governor, appeared--to present Madam Secretary with flowers.

--By Sally B. Donnelly/Washington