06.03.1997

Russia - consistency in reaction

From The Call, paper of the British Socialist Party, March 1 1997

The political and economic situation in Russia is nearing a crisis. Owing to the breakdown of transport organisation through the proverbial incapacity of the bureaucracy, a state of famine in food and fuel actually exists in the large towns, including Moscow and Petrograd. Politically the situation is one of extreme tension and gravity.

Since the entry of the present government into office a campaign for the suppression of representative institutions has been carried out. The most reactionary elements are allowed full play. An organisation calling itself the Patriotic Alliance of the Russian Fatherland presented a petition to M Protopopov, the minister of the interior, who is in full sympathy with it, demanding the dissolution of the Duma and the town and district councils in order to stem the poison of political scheming which goes forth from them and “pours over Russia in a pestilential wave”.

The struggle is avowedly one for the suppression of the Duma on the one hand, and for control of the government by the Duma on the other. But the reactionaries are in power and are ruthlessly crushing every vestige of democracy. The issue will be brought to a head on the convocation of the Duma, which by this time should have met ...

The Russian papers on January 7 quote the opinions of various deputies on the further postponement of the meeting of the Duma. Skobelyev, Social Democratic deputy, said:

“You can accuse [the government] of whatever you like, but not of inconsistency ... They pursue their policy to the very end. They stop at nothing and nothing ever seems to disconcert them. They openly despise public opinion and do not even pretend to reckon with it ... The government of Golitzin did not even think it necessary to furnish any official explanation for the postponement of the reassembly of the Duma.”