Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin Speak out Against Putin’s Reforms

mosnews.com ^ | 9/16/2004 | Staff

[Luis Gonzalez]

Soviet Union’s last president Mikhail Gorbachev and Russia’s first president Boris Yeltsin expressed criticism regarding Vladimir Putin’s proposed reforms in Russian electoral system. Statements by Yeltsin and Gorbachev were made in exclusive interviews to Moskovskie Novosti (The Moscow News) weekly, and will be published in that newspaper’s Friday issue. MosNews, which is a partner publication of Moskovskie Novosti, posted full translation of both statements on our website on Thursday.

Our common goal is to do everything possible to make sure that bills, which, in essence, mean a step back from democracy, don’t come into force as law. I hope that the politicians, voters, and the president himself keep the democratic freedoms that were so hard to obtain, — reads Mikhail Gorbachev’s statement. Soviet Union’s last president, who ruled the country from 1985 to 1992, is convinced that Russian authorities “must search for political solutions, negotiate with the middle-of-the-road militants, separating them from the unappeasable extremists”.

His successor Boris Yeltsin, whose second presidential term ended on December 31, 1999, with a surprise announcement of his voluntary resignation (Vladimir Putin was named acting president three months before actually getting elected in March 2000), calls on the Kremlin to refrain from undermining the existing constitutional framework, despite the necessity of fighting terrorist threats.

I firmly believe that the measures that the country’s leadership will undertake after Beslan will remain within the framework of democratic freedoms that have become Russia’s most valuable achievement over the past decade. We will not give up on the letter of the law, and most importantly, the spirit of the Constitution our country had voted for at the public referendum in 1993. If only because the stifling of freedom and the curtailing of democratic rights is a victory by the terrorists. Only a democratic country can successfully resist terrorism and count on standing shoulder to shoulder with all of the world’s civilized countries, — Yeltsin says in his statement.

Boris Yeltsin’s statement is viewed as a surprise move by many observers in Moscow. Unlike Mikhail Gorbachev, who is still active on Russian political scene, Yeltsin chose to refrain from public comments about Vladimir Putin’s politics ever since his retirement. Recently Boris Berezovsky, an exiled tycoon, renowned for his criticisms of Kremlin and Putin, published an open letter to Russia’s first president, urging Yeltsin to speak up and reminding him of his responsibility for the establishment of Russian constitutional democracy. Yeltsin makes no mention of Berezovsky’s call in his statement, but some observers tend to link his decision to break silence with the exiled oligarch’s request.

[exodus]

What about that russian theatre that was taken by some group wearing explosives and deadman switches some time back? I do recall that they claimed to be acting with relation to problems in chechnya.
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I don't remember that, WoofDog123.

Still, if terror tactics were standard fare in the Chechnyan arsenal, we'd have seen many more "terror" attacks against Russian citizens.

I think the Russian government is lying about the genesis of the school attack.

[CWOJackson]

Putin's Putzes are in full battlecry tonight...rally round the Soviet.

[Luis Gonzalez]

"If Russians commit savage acts and you want the world to know about it...Document the atrocities. Publicize the atrocities. Prosecute the atrocities. Don't repeat the atrocities."

Well sh%t!

That's what I'M doing and you're accusing me of supporting terrorism!

[WoofDog123]

it was in october 2002, there are a number of articles around on FR here is one

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/778156/posts

russia raised my eyebrows with the post-counterstrike PR by refusing to identify the gas used to subdue the attackers even when hostages were dying...

[Luis Gonzalez]

"I think the Russian government is lying about the genesis of the school attack."

Yep.

[StoneFury]

Post #51 is truly disgusting, and I am willing to bet the poster is a re-thread.

I made a remark that Free Republic's resident Chechnya Cheerleader thinks is disgusting. So should I feel remorseful?

No. I feel validated.

[CWOJackson]

"I think the Russian government is lying about the genesis of the school attack."

Reichstag fire. Putin has been maneuvering things for some years now to this moment when he has an excuse to destroy the new Russian government and restore his beloved Soviet empire.

[Will_Zurmacht]

I'll see your argument half-way.

Whenever an extrodinary claim of a "government conspiracy" arises, I get suspicious. Without serious evidence, it looks kooky and Art-Bellish.(Although Art Bell is actually entertaining!)

But I'd buy the Putin power grab line easily. That can be demonstrated. Putin's actions over the last few years give me pause. He likes to punish enemies, again, an old Russian tradition....hehe. In another age he would have made a great party secretary.....

That said, terrorist often play into the hands of their enemies. Just ask Mr. Arafat...hehe.

As for banning people, I'm generally against it.
If people wanna be pro-Chechen, as long as they are sensible and can make a legit argument, why not?

I could even listen to an Al-Quaedaish poster under certain conditions....if they acknowledged that terrorist act were not justified, and wrong, and decided to fight in the realm of ideas, isn't that what it's about?

Granted, it gets hard to defend the indefensible, but as long as no knives are pulled, it's a healthy debate.

just my 2 cents

[exodus]

Thanks for that link, WoofDog123.

[exodus]

I agree.

[CWOJackson]

Isn't it amazing how some people have learned absolutely nothing from history. We spent 50 years fighting the cold war and Ronald Reagan ALMOST destroyed the Soviet Union. It didn't call it the Evil Empire for nothing.

Now we're confronted with an ex-KGB agent who has been publicly bemoaning the fall of the Soviet Union, has been pushing his nation backward to the darkness, is now making his move to take over the government, muzzle the media and raise his Soviet empire from the ashes...and some people in America are worshiping him.

[Luis Gonzalez]

Check out post #51

[Luis Gonzalez]

Over here!

[CWOJackson]

Sad. There is plenty of well documented reports on Putin's abuses...but some seem to think it's alright when the KGB does it.

[FreeReign]

Putin has slaughtered 40,000 kids in Chechnya Why so few?

What you advocate is no better than what the Beslan terrorists did.

Yet silence by almost everybody on this thread.

[WoofDog123]

"Now we're confronted with an ex-KGB agent who has been publicly bemoaning the fall of the Soviet Union, has been pushing his nation backward to the darkness, is now making his move to take over the government, muzzle the media and raise his Soviet empire from the ashes...and some people in America are worshiping him."

The media gives americans a terribly shallow view of foreign governments, especially those not-so-nice governments like russia, china, north korea, and of course our friends in cuba. My own comments about russia above have nothing to do wiht the general disinformation about russia that is what passes for news in the US.

[FreeReign]

No. I feel validated.

You would.

[CWOJackson]

Yes, you sure cannot trust American news sources like the Wall Street Journal or STRATFOR.

[Will_Zurmacht]

Forgive, I think you misunderstood me..

What I meant to say is this..

If you (the Chechnyans, not you, personally, as an individual) are outraged by Russian atrocities, you can do much better by having the "Black Widows" take off their bomb belts and the angry guys could take off the mask, maybe put down the guns and and get your story out...

On the other hand, If you (again, not you Luis, You as in the angry Chechnyans) are not gonna go the "peaceful" route, and opt for violence, then direct the violence where it belongs.
If you (the Chechnyans, not you)engage in the same behavior as the Russians, you lose your argument, and your moral standing.

That's all I have been trying to say.

It really doesn't matter how many Chechen kids vs. Russian kids died last month, last year, or least century. All that matters is where we go from here....

and if someone says that killing kids is bad, but hey, look, they started killing kids first......

I have a hard time feeling sympathy for their argument.

[exodus]

To: exodus
"... Whenever an extraordinary claim of a "government conspiracy" arises, I get suspicious. Without serious evidence, it looks kooky and Art-Bellish ..."
# 88 by Will_Zurmacht
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There is nothing "extraordinary" about a government conspiracy, Will_Zurmacht.

Politics is conspiracy, and governments are composed of politicians.

Even "serious evidence" of a crime committed by a government is ignored by that government's citizens; no one wants to believe that their leaders are evil.