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From: usa-post@AmeriCast.Com
Organization: American Cybercasting
Subject: Sample Moscow News art.214 Sat, Aug 22 1992
Date: Sat, 22 Aug 92 22:04:19 EDT

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    DATE(YYYY/MM/DD): 1992/08/19
    TITLE: Does Russia deserve its government?
    BY: Douglas Stanglin
    SUBJECTS:
    SECTION: 12
    
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    SUMMARY:
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         Does Russia deserve its government?
         On the  afternoon the  coup  collapsed,  I  stood  on  a  balcony
    overlooking Leninsky  Prospekt and  watched as  dozens of  tanks, many
    flying Russian flags, rolled out of town and back to their base. At my
    side, a  young Russian  woman spoke words I had never expected to hear
    in Moscow: "I'm really proud of Russia."
          I  shared those feelings. Yet that night, as I sat down to write
    a profile  of Boris  Yeltsin, the  man who  faced  down  the  coup,  I
    included this  paragraph:  "But  even  his  admirers  worry  that  his
    brilliance at  the barricades will fade once he returns to the tedious
    work of governing."
         A  year  later,  I  believe  that  both  observations  are  still
    accurate. That  shining moment  in August  was indeed a remarkable and
    courageous achievement,  a tremendous  beginning --  but it  was  only
    that, a beginning. The real gains of that victory remain elusive.
         Just as  George Bush  suffers from lack of "the vision thing," so
    Boris Yeltsin  has failed  to articulate what kind of country he wants
    to create from the ashes of the Soviet Union. That is problematic in a
    country like  the United  States, but it is dangerous in a politically
    unstable country that purports to turn away from one-man rule.
         In the  vacuum, the  West has  created its  own notion  of  where
    Russia is  headed, and  risks a  rude awakening  in the process. Still
    focusing on  the white-haired  president atop  a tank,  the  West  has
    raised expectations for Russia that simply cannot be fulfilled, not in
    the short  term. Chief  among them is a perception that Russia, in the
    afterglow of  the failed coup, is busily building democracy and, along
    with it,  a market  economy. All  it  will  take,  according  to  this
    optimistic scenario,  is some  encouragement, a  little help  and some
    financial aid.
         Such expectations must be scaled back if the West and Russia want
    to avoid  an angry  East-West misunderstanding  over unspoken promises
    and unexpected outcomes.
         First, of  course, the  West should  acknowledge  the  tremendous
    changes that have taken place since August 1991. As a direct result of
    the coup,  the Soviet  empire, with  its totalitarian  trappings,  has
    disintegrated, surely  to rise no more. That has been liberating, both
    for those  who tried  to keep  it together  by  force  and  those  who
    suffered under  their heavy  hand. It has also freed the West from its
    obsession with the Soviet threat.
         Gone,  too,   is  the   paralyzing  fear  that  has  stunted  the
    intellectual and  political growth  of Russia for 70 years. And, gone,
    is the heavy-handed propaganda that insulted one's intelligence.
         What is hard to ascertain is what is emerging in their place. The
    Western pillars  of a  democracy --  a freely  elected  parliament,  a
    system of checks and balances, a free and independent judiciary -- are
    still out of reach. More important, it seems, is who gets which office
    in the  Kremlin. It  is particularly  sad that  a battle  of  personal
    ambition so  quickly wrecked any hope that Russia would build a strong
    and wise parliament.
         It is  also difficult  to say  that the  foundations of law-based
    society are  being laid  when the  country's most  important  judicial
    event --  the trial  of the  coup makers  - is  being delayed  for yet
    another year.  Nor can one ascertain much democracy in the decision by
    Yeltsin's team to forbid any elections during 1992.
         It is equally hard to believe that a real market economy is being
    created in  Russia when  such key  elements as a bankruptcy law, full-
    scale privatization,  and a  law on private property are, effectively,
    non-existent.
         Worse, the whole notion of democracy has been debased in the past
    12 months.  To the man on the street, the coup that promised democracy
    delivered only higher prices and unemployment; rising crime and social
    unrest. For  those Russians  who view  democracy only  as license, not
    freedom, it confirms their worst expectations.
         It is  particularly ironic  -- and  tragic -- that Yeltsin, whose
    feel for  the common  man is  undeniable, failed to use his tremendous
    popularity after  the abortive  coup to  sink real democratic roots in
    the body  politic, so  securing a  public mandate for reform through a
    referendum or  parliamentary elections. That would have forced members
    of the  fledgling parliament  to sink  or swim  with him,  instead  of
    allowing them the luxury of standing on the sidelines with their hands
    folded.
         Instead, Yeltsin  has  fallen  back  on  court  politics,  palace
    intrigue and  a bent  for strong executive power. Worse, he has had to
    defend himself  before only  a quasi-democratic parliament that can in
    no real  sense claim  to speak  for the  people.  That,  too,  debases
    democracy for him and for the country.
         Nor, in  truth, have Russians flocked to the banner of democracy.
    And that  is the  greatest tragedy.  The myth has grown in the West --
    and perhaps  here as  well --  that millions  turned out in defense of
    freedom in  Russia, while,  in fact,  it was  only a  tiny fragment of
    society. No  People Power  here.  Does  a  country,  indeed,  get  the
    government it deserves?
         That young  woman who  felt such pride a year ago no longer does.
    She sees  the same  old faces making the same old promises. Worse, she
    sees no future for her children.
         But Russians  are not the only ones getting a different democracy
    than they  envisioned. The  West is  only just beginning to understand
    that power in Russia -- indeed throughout the Commonwealth -- is still
    held largely  by ex-Communist party officials whose frame of reference
    remains rule-by-decree. Already, some senior White House officials are
    questioning Yeltsin's  leadership. It  is the  beginning  of  the  big
    disillusionment.
         What the  West, which  was so  enthralled by  those four  days in
    August, must grasp is the sad truth that, at best, Russia has a chance
    during these  fleeting post-coup  months  to  plant  the  seeds  of  a
    democracy that  will flower at some later date. Maybe next year, maybe
    next decade.
                                     Douglas Stanglin
         
         
    ***
    ***
This article is copyright 1992 The Moscow News. Redistribution to
other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American 
Cybercasting Corporation.  For more information, send-email to 
usa@AmeriCast.COM

This article is copyright 1992 The Moscow News. Redistribution to
other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American 
Cybercasting Corporation.  For more information, send-email to 
usa@AmeriCast.COM