The Russian bet pays off.

AuthorNathan, James A.

THE JULY 3rd election of Boris Yeltsin may mark the nadir of Russia's post-communist free fall. During the last days of June, Yeltsin and democracy itself in Russia seemed to flag until Yeltsin's team orchestrated a masterful campaign. Soviet-era horrors were reviewed endlessly on state television--courtesy of miraculously declassified footage. Expensive American consultants proliferated, and an endless torrent of radio and TV commercials swamped the Russian airwaves.

Yeltsin's huge second-round run-off victory owed much to the appointment of the well-liked, but quirky Afghan war hero, Aleksandr Lebed. Many suspect that the Yeltsin team supported Lebed with airtime, advice, and money in order to draw votes away from the Communists. No doubt, however, much of Lebed's popularity also was a function of the rough-hewn former paratrooper's tireless criticism of his country's notoriously corrupt senior military.

Lebed's rise came at the immediate expense of Defense Minister Pavel Grachev. Tied to various seedy deals from drugs to embezzling housing funds, "Mercedes Grachev" (as enemies were wont to call him) won his long tenure by assiduously backing Yeltsin--first during the August, 1991, coup attempt; then in supervising the October, 1993, assault on the Russian parliament. Over the last few months, Grachev manfully worked for Yeltsin's re-election. The Defense Minister's final "success"--or at least one that Grachev spokesmen claimed--was to bring out 80% of the military vote in the first round. Even more astonishing was the 87% of officers and draftees who were said to have placed their marks in Yeltsin's column in the first balloting.

Two days after the June tallies came in, Grachev was fired. Also let go were a number of top generals. Some were accused by Lebed of complicity in a "coup" attempt. The seriousness of the charges was reflected in a lack of arrests. A later "clarification" by Lebed had it that the so-called plotters were retired. The military leaders were free to "go fishing and grow strawberries." More credibly, and ominously, Lebed placed 300,000,000,000 rubles of 'criminal" losses squarely in the lap of the departing security elite.

The June housecleaning explains much of the remarkable 70% turnout on July 3. Yeltsin's impressive triumph does not mean Lebed-and his disturbingly dark vision of Slavic purity--will be sustained, though.

A Russian "man on horseback" is unlikely. At least not now. Lebed, a self-professed...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT