Russia: Yeltsin's Enemies

Warnings of a coming dictatorship have been as common in Moscow this winter as street-corner complaints about high prices. Down through Russia's history, authoritarianism has been the rule, reform and democracy the rare -- and brief -- exception. For that reason alone, the odds seem to dictate that President Boris Yeltsin's efforts to install a new system will founder and the strong hand will follow. Even Yeltsin has raised the specter. "I have faith in our reforms," he said on a visit to France last month. "But if they fail, I can already feel the breath of the redshirts and Brownshirts on our necks."

Yeltsin's words rang true on the streets of Moscow last week when communists and ultra-nationalists clashed with police during an antigovernment demonstration. Despite outnumbering the 5,000 demonstrators 2 to 1, city militia and riot police responded with billy clubs when the crowd broke their cordons. The clashes left 20 policemen and seven civilians injured.

It was the first violent demonstration in Moscow under Yeltsin's rule, but it testified less to the strength of the opposition than to the President's mishandling of the threat. Had they simply let the demonstration go on, Yeltsin and his supporters in the Moscow city government could have pointed to the tiny turnout as proof that the great majority of Russians prefer democratic reform to any brand of authoritarianism, communist or fascist. Instead, the disparate opposition forces won a fresh reason to rail against the government. Wrote Eduard Limonov, in the conservative Sovetskaya Rossiya newspaper: "The first beatings are usually followed by the first bullets and the first murders."

While Yeltsin still enjoys public support, there is no shortage of would-be successors trying to stir up discontent and resistance. Opposition groups range from communist movements nostalgic for Stalinist strong-arm rule to ultra-right nationalist parties preaching Russian imperial supremacy. Increasingly, these two have edged toward forming a common front against Yeltsin in the name of "saving the fatherland." Both have been courting the former Soviet army; despite internal divisions, the 3.7 million-strong military remains the only force capable of toppling the government. Another threat may come from the ranks of democrats who carried Yeltsin to power but who have since splintered into factions. Here are some of Yeltsin's enemies, real and potential:

THE COMMUNISTS. Following the failed coup last August, Yeltsin punished the Communist Party by banning it on Russian territory and confiscating its vast property. Nine new groups claim to be the party's heir. Their leaders are generally little-known former functionaries or true believers; they draw much of their support from party bureaucrats who have lost their status, privileges and often their jobs. The new communist parties have also found allies in trade-union officials who fear that market reform will lead to factory closures and mass unemployment.

Until recently, demonstrations for the return of communism rarely attracted more than 100 people, but soaring inflation brought on by price liberalization has swelled the ranks of the disgruntled. Nevertheless, communism is so discredited that most observers dismiss the likelihood of a red revival.