| Russian "democracy" has invented a new term
to define an ancient practice.
The term is "administrative resource" and it means using the
government
machine and its financial resources at all levels to gain advantage over
the opposition in formally free elections. In the olden communist days,
things were simple. There was no open opposition and no resources to oppose
the ruling party. No special expenditure was needed to boost the illusion
of regime popularity. As Comrade Stalin used to say, it was not so
important how people voted, provided that the vote was "properly"
counted.
In today's Russia, widespread opposition is a fact confirmed by public
opinion polls and election results. In a capitalistic economy, plenty
of
businesses and wealthy individuals are eager to finance causes that do
not
coincide with the government line. And while 90 percent of the population
believe that the vote is not counted honestly, leeway for jiggling the
figures is limited 5 to 7 percent of the total national tally, according
to
some estimates.
Boris Yeltsin underestimated the opposition potential, which cost him
a
left-wing majority parliament elected in 1995 and made political life
difficult for him until his resignation at the end of 1999. Only an all-out
effort by the "Seven Bankers" and oligarch-controlled media
saved his
presidential campaign in 1996. Vladimir Putin realised the disadvantage
of
not having a strong "party of power" and used oligarch financing
to create
one in time for his election in spring, 2000.
While he managed to consolidate pro-presidential forces in parliament
in
the next few years, he also lost overwhelming support from the oligarchs.
Banishing Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky helped impose government
control over national television but made Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other
tycoons apprehensive of creeping dictatorship and yearning for a shift
to a
parliamentarian republic. Consequently, Big Business support began shifting
away to opposition parties - both on the Right and the Left. Starting
last
spring, opinion polls were sending alarm signals to the Kremlin indicating
possible loss of pro-presidential majority in the next parliament.
At this point, Putin apparently decided to switch his "administrative
resource" into full gear. A pro-Kremlin group of analysts published
a
report warning of a creeping coup d'etat engineered by the oligarchs.
Immediately following came the first "YUKOS" arrests, which
later expanded
into a full-fledged attack on its principal shareholders, including
Khodorkovsky in person.
There is no doubt of the predominantly political motivation behind this
action. Sure enough, Khodorkovsky and partners are probably guilty of
tax
evasion, fraud, fixing sales of government properties, etc. But so are
many
other privatisers of the last decade. As well as some of the government
officials who lent a hand and buttered their own bread in the process.
However, singling out one business group that has openly started giving
money to leading opposition parties is ample proof that the Kremlin attack
is politically targeted.
Further confirmation was provided when the officers of the General
Procuracy stormed the offices of a PR company in downtown Moscow hired
by
the YABLOKO liberal party to work for them in the current election
campaign. The alleged target of the search were financial documents related
to YUKOS, but in the process confidential YABLOKO papers detailing its
staff's activities and campaign plans were also seized. Public protests
by
the party led nowhere.
The latest attack of the same sort was this week's resolution passed
by the
pro-presidential Duma majority against the protests of the opposition.
It
calls on the Prosecutor-General to investigate alleged financial
improprieties of "Rosagroprom" company run by a businessman
associated with
the Communist Party and running on its ticket. The resolution also asks
the
authorities to investigate alleged financial connections of the Left
opposition with emigre oligarch Berezovsky.
Moscow political circles fear that these activities are an attempt to
lay
the base for disqualifying YABLOKO and the communists from participating
in
the elections at the last moment when it is too late to appeal possible
court action. Taking these parties off the ballot would leave the
pro-government "United Russia" practically unopposed, since
the "Union of
Right Forces" (SPS) led by Anatoly Chubais and Boris Nemtsov is too
small
to make the difference while LDPR, Zhirinovsky's one-man group, is a
Kremlin supporter.
Some politicians associated with Big Business have suggested that the
only
way to effectively contain Kremlin's "administrative resource"
is for all
three non-government parties - SPS, YABLOKO and the Communists to formally
refuse further participation in the elections and thus force the Kremlin
into cancelling them altogether until a more normal political atmosphere
in
the country is restored. However, there is little likelihood of such
cohesion between the Right and Left despite the danger of a new autocracy.
Strong support from the business community would help but the Russian
Union
of Industrialists has demonstrated at its recent congress inability to
speak
out in defence of of its arrested colleagues, let alone contest Kremlin's
political tendencies.
Which means that Russia is in for another term of "managed democracy"
with
little chance of escaping from its historical plague of authoritarian
rule.
See also:
State Duma elections
2003
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