RUSSIAN TOWN SHOWS LEBED'S BACKING IMPORTANT TO YELTSIN.

Byline: Michael Specter The New York Times

President Boris N. Yeltsin had a big problem in Tula before he latched onto Aleksandr I. Lebed. People in that central Russian city - even those who voted for him - dislike Yeltsin intensely, according to focus groups meeting there on Wednesday, the day after Lebed, the outspoken former general who came in a strong third in last week's presidential election, was named to the Cabinet.

They do not like Yeltsin's program and they are even more confused about who should lead Russia into the next century than most of their fellow citizens, as last Sunday's vote suggests: Yeltsin received 31 percent of the local votes; Lebed, who represents Tula in parliament, received 29 percent and the Communist candidate, Gennady Zyuganov, got 25 percent.

People in Tula want somebody they trust in the government, somebody, they say over and again, like Aleksandr Lebed.

``Thank God we have Lebed standing at Yeltsin's back,'' said one of eight retired people in a discussion whose purpose was to gauge the effect of the new Lebed-Yeltsin union on the president's chances in the runoff election on July 3. A reporter was permitted to watch the discussions with different groups - elderly voters, young people and others - on the condition that no names be published.

The focus groups were conducted by a market reseach firm whose clients include businesses eager to assess the political situation in Russia. They took place the day before Lebed, asserting his new authority as a senior member of the Yeltsin administration, helped precipitate the dismissal of three of Yeltsin's closest aides.

``Can it hurt to have somebody honest in the government of this country for a change?'' asked the man, a talkative recent retiree from a local munitions factory. ``He is the one man who can convince Boris Yeltsin to do what is right for the country.''

In some ways Tula is typical of urban Russia now. A city of 600,000 people about 110 miles south of Moscow, it was a center of military manufacturing during the Soviet era. Making the switch to civilian production has not been easy.

A few focus groups cannot speak for a city, let alone a country. But they certainly spoke loudly for themselves. And they addressed the question that will decide the presidency: Will Lebed's 11 million voters feel compelled to vote for Yeltsin now that the former general has endorsed him? Or do they view his instant rush toward the president he has so often criticized an abdication of principle?

The answer, at least in this town, where Lebed is deeply popular and people are looking for somebody to believe in, was overwhelmingly positive for Yeltsin.

``I voted for Lebed in December,'' said one woman, referring to the elections that sent him to parliament. ``I voted for him this week. I support him, and so if he has been made an important part of the government, then why shouldn't I support that government?''

It is too early to judge for sure whether Lebed is a real power in the Yeltsin administration or a bit of campaign window-dressing, but almost everyone in the focus groups, including people who did not vote for Lebed and do not like him at all, say he has become the second most important man in Russia.

People took Yeltsin's flattering comment that Mr. Lebed is the most obvious man to succeed him as president without a bit of suspicion. And that was before the remarkable palace intrigue later in the week that left Lebed the clear winner in the latest of Moscow's maddeningly intricate power struggles.

``These people use all the words that Zyuganov uses,'' said Masha Volkenstein, president of Validata, the Moscow concern that conducted the focus groups. ``They talk about order all the time, about stability, about stopping corruption and what they see as an unfair way of life. But they support Lebed, and that means most of them will support Yeltsin. It is completely a decision based on personality.''