Russia: Yeltsin's Enemies

(2 of 3)

"The communist idea in our country is quickly becoming part of the past," says Vitali Tretyakov, editor of the reform newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta. "It offers nothing that will improve people's lives."

THE NATIONALISTS. Many of the communist sympathizers are trying to broaden their appeal by adopting some of the nationalist and patriotic themes of the right wing. At last week's demonstration, symbols of Russian imperialism were almost as common a sight as the hammer and sickle. Viktor Alksnis, who led a faction of hard-liners in the old Soviet parliament, has teamed up with noncommunist nationalists in an umbrella movement called Nashi (Ours) that seeks to restore the U.S.S.R., whether in its previous form or as a new Russian empire. "Anyone who supports the union is ours," says Alksnis.

Perhaps the most potent figure in the Nashi coalition is Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a noisy demagogue whose ravings have earned him comparisons to Hitler. As chairman of the deceptively named Liberal-Democratic Party, Zhirinovsky campaigned on a platform mixing promises of cheaper vodka with blatant xenophobia to place a surprising third in the Russian presidential election won by Yeltsin last June. He has threatened to poison the newly independent Baltic peoples with nuclear waste and vows to expand Russian territory by force. Though his fanaticism has made him mainly a vulgar curiosity, some observers fear he may be a forerunner of politicians to come. Says Lev Timofeyev, a market-oriented economist: "A person with a program like Zhirinovsky's could be dangerous."

GOVERNMENT RIVALS. One of the government's most outspoken critics is the man legally entitled to take over if Yeltsin should depart: Vice President Alexander Rutskoi. He provided key support when his Communists for Democracy faction split with party hard-liners and backed Yeltsin's campaign for Russia's top post. Yeltsin rewarded him with the second spot, but since last fall Rutskoi has turned on his boss with a very public campaign against the economic reform plan of Deputy Prime Minister Yegor Gaidar. Though a proponent of reform in principle, Rutskoi recently described Gaidar's program of freeing prices before privatizing state property as "economic genocide of the Russian people."

Though Rutskoi has carefully avoided criticizing Yeltsin personally, the President has moved to limit his erstwhile ally's authority and recently assigned him the thankless agricultural portfolio. But Yeltsin has stopped short of trying to oust Rutskoi, possibly because he considers it wiser to tolerate a rebellious Vice President than to have him lead an opposition campaign. "Rutskoi can only form a viable party if he resigns," says Tretyakov. As if preparing for such a move, Rutskoi has lately been sounding nationalist themes along with his economic critiques.

THE MILITARY. All opposition figures have supported the military in its complaints: low pay, poor housing and uncertainty brought on by the disintegration of the union. The army remains a powerful wild card. While Marshal Yevgeni Shaposhnikov, military commander of the new Commonwealth of Independent States, has assured both Yeltsin and the West that the army will not take part in any coup, some officers have suggested that they should take the initiative to "save" the country. Aware of the threat, Yeltsin has heeded the complaints: in January he raised officers' salaries 90%.