An uneventful campaign
THE REFERENDUM campaign, whilst dominated by pro-Yeltsin propaganda on the television, saw virtually no popular demonstrations n support of the President. Neither was there much activity, with an ass support, from opposition groups. The only demonstration of not was called by the rightwing Front for National Salvation on the eve of
International Viewpoint #246 June 1993 inclinations. These and related issues will almost certainly become a major debate inside the rather heterogeneous Congress and could lead to sharp differences or even splits between the forces advocating close collaboration with the Civic Union and the referendum. Some 40-50,000 people attended. POUL FUNDER LARSEN — Moscow, April 29, 1993
A NDREI Sayez, editor of
the Moscow trade union paper Solidarnost, aptly described this peculiar situation a few weeks before the referendum. "The President, the deputies and the judges of the Constitutional court live extremely stressful lives. They quarrel, make peace, swear their loyalty to the Constitution, then swear at the Constitution. But in the lives of ordinary, normal people this does not change anything at all. It only means that next to Santa Barbara, those who are interested can watch another equally drawn out series "Yeltsin fights with Khasbulatov'.!
The groups and parties that came out of the former Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) still play a dominant role in the active opposition to Yeltsin. However, major parts of these currents can only nominally be termed leftwing'. Chauvinist tendencies that merge with the "patriotic new right are gaining ground amongst their supporters.
The communists in Russia are, with some notable exceptions?, now grouped around two organisations; the front of Working Russia (Trudeyaya Rossia), and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF). The neo-stalinist Working Russia, dominated by the Russian Communist Workers Party (RKRP) which at one point claimed 100,000 members, has been losing influence over the last few months and was only able to attract around 5,000 to its demonstration on the eve of the referendum. Meanwhile the KPRF, founded earlier this year, claims more than 500,000 members, and though this figure may be inflated it is almost certainly the
Both major communist organisations called on the electorate to vote against Yeltsin and his policies, for early presidential elections, but against early elections for the parliament. The latter position was certainly a difficult one to maintain, because the deputies have discredited themselves by their constant vacillations on all major
The Congress of Democratic Left Forces, founded in the latter part of 1992, comprises a number of parties. The Socialist Workers Party (SPT), of which Roy Medvedev is a co-founder, and the Russian Communist Party (RKP) emerged from out of the CPSU. The Party of Labour (PT) represents other traditions. The Congress also involves trades unio nists, women's organisations and activists from different social movements. In their campaign they called for a 'No' to Yeltsin and his policies and 'Yes' to early elections for both president and parliament.
In practice the Congress campaign was severely limited by material constraints, so to a large extent it hung onto the initiatives taken by the 'old' trade unions and the 'central' forces around the Khasbulatov leadership of the Supreme Soviet and the Civic Union, which in reality is led by Vice-president Rutskoi. But neither the unions nor the Civic Union campaigned in a particularly energetic fashion and did not come up with a precise recommendation for the voters as regards the question of confidence in Yeltsin. There were, however, some forces in the trades unions working for a 'No' to Yeltsin.
Relations with the Civic Union may indeed prove a mixed blessing to the leftists in the Congress. In the event of elections they will have to face the question of which candidates to endorse for the presidency: an independent candidate from their own ranks and/or the workers movement; or the candidate from the Civic Union. This is likely to be Rutskoi who is well known for his elitist and authoritarian those critical of its bureaucratic nature.
Of the leftwing groups outside the Congress — primarily small anarchist, left socialist and Trotskyist currents — most came out in favour of a boycott. The ratio nale for such a position was explained in an editorial of the independent Trotskyist magazine Rabochaya Demokratia:
"The state power and only the state power formulates the question, in a manner so that the answer is known beforehand, and even if this answer does not coincide with what was expected the right of interpretating it still rests with the state power. The answers to the questions in the referendum will be used by the different groups of exploiters sharing power. Whatever happens the workers will get nothing. So what sense does it make to participate in this farce and lend it an appearance of popular support?"3
Given the extremely manipulative set up around the referendum, this position did offer some insight, but it didn't allow its supporters to link up with the feeble, but really existing active resistance to Yeltsin expressed in the high number voting against his economic policies (some 48% of those voting). Indeed the 'active boycott' called for by these currents remained an abstract slogan, while the 'real boycott' by almost 40% of the electorate was based on apathy and disgust.
At the same time, it should be said that none of the leftwing organisations — whatever their line on the referendum — were really able to make themselves heard above the highly polarised struggle between the President and Parliament. However, the struggles that will unfold over the next few months are likely to give the left new and better opportunities for
1. Solidarnost No 5, 1993. 'Santa Barbara' is a never ending American soap-opera running on Russian TV.
2. For example, the Russian Communist Party (RKP), which contains an anti-stalinist current, and the Communist Tendecy inside the Party of Labour, led by Alexander Buzgalin and Andrei Kolganov.