If the worms turn

THE resignation of Boris Yeltsin as Russia's president at the end of last year and the smooth transition to power of his chosen successor, Vladimir Putin, were closely watched by leaders in neighbouring Central Asia. Kazakhstan's patriarchal president, Nursultan Nazarbaev, has been in office for a decade, and over the years members of his family have become powerful and, say some, immensely rich. The 60-year-old president is in good health and will not have to face an election until 2006. All the same, if he had to give up office for any reason, it would be comforting if he could do so, as Mr Yeltsin did, safely and with dignity.