Monster Media 1993 #2/Image.iso/magazine/impr9358.zip/IMP935-8.ZIP/IMPR9308.TXT

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                 Imprimis, On Line  -- August, 1993

        Imprimis, meaning "in the first place," is a free
        monthly publication of Hillsdale College (circulation
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             ---------------------------------------------

                      "The Rebirth of Democracy in
                       the Former Soviet Empire"
                            by Elena Bonner
                      Founder, Sakharov Foundation

             ---------------------------------------------

                          Volume 22, Number 8
              Hillsdale College, Hillsdale, Michigan 49242
                              August 1993

             ---------------------------------------------

        Preview: Since her husband Andrei Sakharov's death in
        1989, Dr. Elena Bonner has become in her own right one
        of the foremost leaders in the democratic movement in
        Russia. In this essay, based on her lecture presented
        at Hillsdale College's 20th annual Ludwig von Mises
        Lectures in the Spring of 1993, Dr. Bonner calls for a
        new Russian constitution.

             ---------------------------------------------


                          The April Referendum

        In recent months Russia has been going through one more
        critical stage of development in the difficult
        transition to democracy, a stage that is at once cause
        for optimism and pessimism. This April, key members of
        the Congress of People's Deputies did their utmost to
        ruin the national referendum that was in essence meant
        to determine the fate of the policies and presidency of
        Boris Yeltsin. Specifically, they attempted to rig the
        questions on the referendum ballot so as to ensure a
        vote of no confidence. But their efforts failed
        spectacularly, and once again the Russian people
        unequivocally demonstrated their loyalty to President
        Yeltsin and to the cause of democracy.

             So much for the good news. The serious problem of
        deteriorating relations between the Congress of
        People's Deputies and the president remains. The
        current deputies were elected in March 1990, when the
        Communist Party was still in power. Some "experts" have
        claimed that they were elected by fair and democratic
        means, but this is not true. As a result, the
        overwhelming majority are old Party functionaries and
        members of the nomenklatura. Sixty-two percent--i.e.,
        639 out of a total of 1,033 deputies--consistently
        oppose democratic reforms. Just before the referendum,
        618 actually voted to impeach Yeltsin. Only 38 percent-
        -394 deputies--consistently support the president and
        the policies of reform. Each group spends most of its
        time battling to win over wavering deputies. In this
        environment, it is highly unlikely that the Congress of
        People's Deputies can achieve any substantive reform.


                      An Anticonstitutional Crisis

        Russia desperately needs--and needs soon if more
        violence is to be averted--a new written constitution.
        Without one, we will see more of what happened in the
        streets of Moscow on May 1, when deputies upset by the
        outcome of the referendum incited massive street
        violence in Moscow--the likes of which hasn't been seen
        since 1917 when the Bolsheviks used the same tactics in
        trying to come to power. In this case, tragically, over
        500 hundred people were injured and one person was
        killed.

             Democratic, pro-constitutional forces squandered
        their last political victory in August 1991 after the
        failed coup attempt when it would have been feasible to
        painlessly adopt a new constitution and to change the
        membership of the Congress. They must not squander
        their victory now. Two or three months ago, you could
        not have drummed up much interest in a new
        constitution, but now, after the successful referendum,
        it is on everyone's mind. On April 29, the Yeltsin
        government unveiled its proposed version of a new
        constitution. It seems to be the most democratic and
        the most adequate response yet to the needs of the
        nation. In my opinion, it still gives too much power to
        the president, but this can be addressed.

             The first and primary chapter in the Yeltsin
        constitution guarantees the civil rights of all
        citizens. The second chapter outlines a federalist
        system in which autonomous republics, regions,
        provinces and local governments retain a large degree
        of independence. (Anti-reform elements in Congress
        strongly oppose this provision. They would rather
        follow the old Soviet model of centralized power. But
        Yeltsin is adamant that the only way to save Russia is
        to allow decentralization.) In addition, the Yeltsin
        constitution calls for a whole new structure for the
        national government, featuring a two-chamber parliament
        with wide representation and four-year term limits. It
        also guarantees the inviolability of private property
        rights, including land ownership.

             The constitution Russians are forced to live under
        right now is a relic of communism. It was written in
        1936, and for decades it was known simply as the
        "Stalin Constitution." Then in 1978, when it was
        revised to further tighten the grip of the Communist
        Party, it was dubbed the "Brezhnev Constitution."
        During the last year and a half, 342 amendments to the
        "Brezhnev Constitution" have been passed by the
        Congress of People's Deputies, but this has only
        succeeded in making matters more confusing and
        contradictory and has forestalled any genuine
        improvement. Instead of serving as the supreme law of
        the land, the constitution is still the instrument of
        self-serving politicians. Some observers, therefore,
        have characterized this stage of Russia's development
        as a constitutional crisis, but in reality it has been
        an anticonstitutional crisis.


                         The Nuclear Arms Issue

        There is another crisis looming on the horizon for
        Russia. In an interview a few days before the April 25
        referendum, Ruslan Khasbulatov, the chairman of the
        Supreme Soviet of the Congress of People's Deputies,
        was asked by the Western press about the ratification
        of the START agreements. He replied categorically that
        the Congress would not ratify any arms treaty until
        Andrei Kozyrev, minister of foreign affairs and one of
        Yeltsin's staunchest supporters, was fired or forced to
        resign. In other words, arms reduction has become a
        hostage that can be ransomed only for a certain
        political price. The Congress is filled with deputies
        like Khasbulatov who think and behave this way. They
        display a deadly combination of infantilism,
        belligerence and irresponsibility that Western leaders
        should heed, especially when they call for all Soviet
        nuclear weapons to be transferred to Russia. Until
        Russia becomes a stable democratic state with leaders
        who pledge to abide by the law rather than their own
        whims, no weapons should be transferred. Just imagine
        for a moment that the people who were behind the May 1
        violence in Moscow suddenly had total political power
        backed up by total control of the only nuclear arsenal
        in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).


                           Russia and the CIS

        Some say that the real hope for peace and progress lies
        in once again uniting all the former Soviet republics
        under the banner of one government. But their ethnic
        roots, histories and cultures are far too different.
        Nothing short of World War III would ever unite them
        again. But the new Russian constitution could be an
        enormous benefit for all CIS countries. Leonid
        Kravchuk, president of the Ukraine, acknowledged as
        much when he endorsed Yeltsin just before the April
        referendum. The fact that he chose to make his support
        public marks a watershed in the post-communist era, for
        up until now CIS solidarity has been a sham. This
        unprecedented overture has signaled that a new era of
        cooperation between CIS countries has begun.


                              Western Aid

        There is one more issue that I want to mention, the
        issue of Western aid. First, it is vital that this aid
        be distributed equitably to all CIS countries. Russia
        should not receive a disproportionate share; she is
        not, contrary to what you may see in the news, on the
        verge of starvation. But there are regions in the
        former USSR that are hunger-stricken. These are the
        ones that are caught up in armed conflict such as
        Tadgikistan; or the ones that have been devastated by
        natural disaster like Kyrgyzstan, which suffered an
        earthquake that destroyed the last harvest. There is
        also Armenia, which has been subjected to blockade
        since 1989; Ingushetia with thousands of homeless as a
        result of conflict with Osseria; and Abkhasia, which is
        in need of aid because of its on going war with
        Georgia.

             Second, the Jackson Amendment of the 1970s should
        be revived. No U.S. aid should be given to countries
        where human rights are routinely violated. Other
        nations should follow this example when formulating
        their own aid policies. Unless aid is linked directly
        to human rights, the West has no leverage to effect
        change--it is only subsidizing injustice and tyranny.

             Third, Western aid should not be the most
        important or the only method of helping. Money, even
        when it amounts to billions of dollars, cannot overcome
        every problem. Sometimes it can even make problems
        worse. If the West really wishes to help, it should
        support efforts in CIS countries to establish
        democratic constitutions that will guarantee human
        rights, a stable currency, private property, foreign
        investments, free trade, and the rule of law. Western
        creditors should also consider postponing debt
        payments, especially since the debts in question were
        incurred by Yeltsin's communist predecessors.


                   The Generation That Is the Future

        I said at the outset that this stage in Russia's
        transition to democracy is cause for optimism and
        pessimism. Ultimately, I think optimism will triumph.
        Why am I so sure? It is not just because of the huge
        turnout for the April 1993 referendum, even though that
        turnout was phenomenal by any standards. It is mainly
        because I have seen who turned out. The biggest pro-
        Yeltsin, pro-reform group was comprised of Russian men
        and women between 20 and 35 years old. These young
        people are better educated and better trained than ever
        before and they have something that is totally new in
        Russian society: a global mentality. Moreover, they
        outnumber those who oppose reform--the retired, the
        veterans of war, of labor and of the Communist Party.
        These young people are Russia's future. They will not
        give up on freedom and we should not give up on them.


             ---------------------------------------------

        Elena Bonner, the widow of Nobel Peace Prize recipient
        Andrei Sakharov and founder of the Sakharov Foundation,
        began her career as a volunteer army nurse on the
        Russian front in 1941. She graduated from the First
        Leningrad Medical Institute in 1953 and practiced as a
        district doctor and pediatrician.

             She became a political dissident in the late
        1960s. In 1970, at the trial of a fellow dissident, she
        met Andrei Sakharov. They were married in 1972. From
        1980 to 1986 they lived under house arrest in Gorky,
        exiled by the Soviet authorities. Alone Together (1986)
        is an account of those years. She has also written a
        second autobiographical book entitled Mothers and
        Daughters (1992).
                                  ###

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