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FORMER YOUNG REFORMER TAKES TIME OUT TO RECOVER BEFORE NEW DUMA ELECTIONS

LONDON, April 20 (RIA Novosti) - Boris Nemtsov, a former co-chairman of the Union of Right Forces that suffered a defeat at the Duma elections on December 7, 2003, has taken time out of politics until the next parliamentary polls.

"I'll possibly have to resume political activities closer to 2007. Now I plan to engage in business but it is not that I am parting with politics altogether," Nemtsov told RIA Novosti.

Last February, the Young Reformer, as the vice-premier of Yeltsin's cabinet is called either jokingly or in earnest for his relatively young age, was appointed the CEO of the Neftyanoi concern to become a month later strategic planning adviser to the president of the Rustique company owing a chain of restaurants in Russia, the CIS and Europe.

Nemtsov has immediately tended his image to suit the new role-his curly hair once causing so much irritation on the part of his political opponents-- has become smoother.

Nemtsov believes that time should be taken to overcome the disarray among the Russian liberals so as to form a new coalition by the time of new elections.

"The democratic movement in Russia is somewhat stagnant today when we are living through the phase of snowballing organisations. Russia has to live through this phase but its future is a united coalition," he said.

Nemtsov sees this coalition stemming from the Free Choice-2008 committee founded by him and quite a number of well-known politicians and human rights champions, including Garri Kasparov, Helen Bonner, Irina Khakamada and Yevgeny Kiselev.

"If there is an institution uniting all democratic forces, it would be opportune to work out a political document for it-that is what we are going to do," he said.

Another platform for working out a single policy was suggested this April by Vladimir Ryzhkov and Mikhail Zadornov who have set up the Democratic Alternative Club.