Dear pen-l'rs, As promissed, here is a transcript of the interview with Gandy Zyuganov, the leader of CPRF. Greg ***** Radiostantsiya Ekho Moskvy 12 August 1998 [translation for personal use only] Interview with Gennadiy Zyuganov, leader of the Russian Communist Party, by Aleksandr Andreyev -- live [Andreyev] Good afternoon, Gennadiy Andreyevich. [Zyuganov] Good afternoon. [Andreyev] The first question will be about the government and the economic situation. The government is now trying hard to collect taxes and improve the country's economic situation in order to obtain another IMF tranche and further improve the economy. Many laws have to be adopted for this. In your view, will the Duma gather in August to help Kiriyenko's government in this matter? [Zyuganov] There is no denying that the situation is parlous, a very bad one. And this is true not only about financial markets but also about crime that has paralyzed whole streets. Yeltsin has driven everyone up the wall, not only the miners but also the oilmen, not only tramps and unemployed but also businessmen. As regards the government, unfortunately it continues its old policy of squeezing money from a population that has already been robbed four times and from enterprises that have been robbed three times. If only they were concerned about how to support and organize production, that would be one thing. But the money they asked for has been given on the condition that not a kopeck will be paid to the real economy. [passage omitted on possibility of Duma extraordinary meeting to discuss austerity laws; Zyuganov's attitude to Communist Maslyukov joining the government] I asked the government to reveal the conditions on which the IMF is giving us a big loan. You know that I have not received any reply. The Duma asked the same question and got no reply either. Finally we found this document on the Internet in English and translated it into Russian. In it our government pledges to scrap all the social achievements and guarantees that the country has. In fact, Russia has gone over to outside management. It is being run by the IMF, from Washington or anywhere. [passage omitted on arguments against working with the current government; Maslyukov is likely to be sacked from the Communist Part central committee for disobedience; the Semago-Klimentyev election bid in Nizhniy Novgorod] [Andreyev] Let us speak about the events in Afghanistan. The Taleban is approaching CIS borders. They are already on the border with Uzbekistan and, in all likelihood, after they capture yet another pass, they will be at the Tajik border, which is being protected by Russian border guards. In your view, could Russia do anything so that these people suffer no harm and that the CIS remains as it is, without new problems emerging? [Zyuganov] Thank you for this question but I would formulate it somewhat differently. An impeachment commission to remove Yeltsin from power is working now. It is within constitutional norms. The commission has held its first meeting on the Belovezhye conspiracy. And it was proved there that a small number of people -- Yeltsin, [Sergey] Shakhray, [Gennadiy] Burbulis -- did their utmost to destroy a single country, a single security expanse, and a single border for the sake of gratifying their personal ambitions and getting seats in the Kremlin or in other offices and so on. They committed an unprecedented crime of destroying a defense system that was four centuries old and extended from Larva to Kasha. [passage omitted on Zyuganov expanding this theme] It is clear today that all out troubles, including in Central Asia, stem from Belovezhye. Now, let us look at the specific situation. I have just returned from the North Caucasus where I visited several republics. The situation is ominous there. Almost everyone is armed. If this region catches fire, it will be difficult to put it out. Meanwhile, everything is being done to upset the situation in Dagestan, Chechnya, and so on. At the same time, the Taleban is getting right up to Central Asia. The Taleban movement is made up of those who, paid by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, were specifically trained for field fighting in Afghanistan. They are approaching the border. They are Islamic militants and the very fact of their cynical execution of Najibullah confirms this. The world community kept silent whilst our leadership, which at one time saw Najibullah as an ally, made no serious protest. And now they are reaping the whirlwind at their own borders. And this gives out a signal to all Central Asian leaders. If this crosses the river and catches fire there too -- oh! I have been everywhere in that region, including Tajikistan, and know the situation well. A concerted joint reaction by all the leaders should have been voiced some six months ago. The CIS was based on a single defense space, a single border, a single army, and a single security system. But they have failed to implement a single point of what they have signed! And now they have to convene urgently -- but there is nobody to convene. Yeltsin is gravely ill, he is not in control of himself, the government is paralyzed by a financial crisis, others are engaged in internal feuds, and so on. [Foreign Minister Yevgeniy] Primakov understands these problems, he is an Arabic scholar and knows the region well but one ministry's efforts are not enough for taking such strategic decisions. [passage omitted on break for newscast] [Andreyev] The economic situation in Russia is very difficult, it is being compounded by numerous protest actions. Is there any other solution to the crisis or, on the contrary, the government will understand that the people have started large-scale protests and will reconsider its policy? [Zyuganov] [passage omitted on Zyuganov summing up his party's vain efforts to reason with the government] I am in favor of organized protests, when all responsible people understand that we are at an impasse and the situation must be rectified. But I am only in favor of a peaceful and democratic solution to the situation. I would suggest the following blueprint. First, authoritative and respectable people, heads of the Federation Council, the State Duma and major regions, religious figures and nationally-minded capitalists who want to work in Russia should get together and hold multilateral and bilateral consultations because we cannot go on like this. Second, there is a possibility of introducing amendments to the Constitution by the two chambers and reshaping power in favor of a strong government and effective legislative authority. Third, the impeachment procedure should be seen through to the end. It has been announced and signed by 225 deputies but 300 signatures are required. I do not see any problem in collecting this number. [passage omitted on Zyuganov's ideas on how to correct the situation] [Andreyev] I have a question about methods of influencing the executive -- do you support coal miner pickets on rail tracks? [Zyuganov] I am in two minds about it. On the one hand, people do not get wages for months, their voices are being ignored. [passage omitted on suffering of working people] On the other hand, I understand perfectly well that if railroads are blocked, bread and coal will not be delivered, all communications will be cut off, preparations for the winter will fail, and so on. Look, there are Chelyabinsk-26 and Chelyabinsk-70 in Chelyabinsk Region. If power supply is switched off from nuclear facilities there then, given the current mess, the backup systems will simply fail, I am afraid. Therefore we called on the striking people to stage pickets and put up tents, like here, in Moscow, on Gorbatyy Bridge, and work with each labor collective to agree their actions. We have had such a picket line in Omsk for more than several weeks. I talked to them yesterday. There are 20 permanent pickets but all the collectives of the military-industrial complex, educational establishments, teachers, and doctors have visited them, from all Districts. It is imperative now that protests are staged simultaneously in all regions with the same demands: Yeltsin's resignation, a change of the political course, and the formation of a government of national trust. [pasage omitted on Zyuganov elaborating on how the country should be run, using Roosevelt as an example] [Andreyev] In your view, will Clinton's visit to Russia improve the economic situation and will it have any effect on anything at all? [Zyuganov] Americans, their administration and Clinton should stop and think why embassies are being blown up and why anti- Americanism is growing throughout the world. I would not like to see a return to the Cold War but anti-Americanism in our country is growing by the hour too. They [American administration] see and support a gang of thieving bankrupt drunks who have led the nation to extinction and annihilation. But they have kept supporting them. These reforms are a blatant genocide and the annihilation of people. Backed by the Americans, democrats in Russia invented a monstrous system of destroying people, culture, education, and honest information. You, journalists, are suffering too since you see what is happening in the country because you also live in it. I would like therefore very much that during his next visit he [Clinton] should refrain from persuading us to ratify START II or to carry on with the Chubays reforms. At the present-day stage, neither will come through. The country is not blind any longer and it is longing for a change. We would like to live in peace and friendship with America, Europe, and Asia. We would like to inherit everything good on earth. At the same time, we would like to see respect for our language, culture, and our uniqueness. We would like to see respect for our choice and sovereignty. But we do not have any today. A master is coming to see his subjects. [Andreyev] Here is the last question: Will START II be ratified in the near future? [Zyuganov] What is START? It is a treaty signed when the conventional arms treaty was in force. Now the whole system has been upset. At the time NATO was not expanding, now it is. Who is posing a threat to them from the East? Nobody. Why then are they expanding? In order to divide Russia up into pieces and then to privatize it bit by bit. And they see Russia as the outpost of the struggle against Islamic extremism and Chinese Communism. So what do they expect -- that Russia should do just that while simultaneously scrapping its entire security system? You cannot be serious! On the whole, I believe that the level, the threshold of nuclear weapons should be considerably lowered. I am perhaps one of the few politicians who has taken part in nuclear and chemical weapons tests. There are seven countries with nuclear weapons today, and tomorrow another 15 will join them because they are technologically ready for this. Israel claims not to have any. Everybody is making noises about Iraq. But Iraq does not have any indeed, whilst Israel has a nuclear bomb. Ask intelligence people and they will confirm. Just imagine that five or so nuclear charges are dropped on a country, any country. It will be an absolutely different country tomorrow. Therefore national, state, global security should be comprehended as soon as possible because the planet is already groaning under the weight of piles of weapons and the mentality of military confrontation. Washington will not be the master of the world. A multipolar world is developing and it requires more astute politicians, closer contacts, and no humiliation of countries. Russia, all of us, have been humiliated to such a degree that outrageous things have started growing from below and on outer flanks in our country and many people are terrified by them. So do not humiliate! Germany was humiliated and that led to the 1941 war. Nobody took its interests into account and it was carved up after the World War I. At the time the experience and interests of Soviet Russia were also neglected. It was simply thrown out of Europe. So lessons must be learned from this and a multipolar world should be built keeping in mind that education, health, ecology, and peaceful neighbourhoods are the most important things. Given this, trust and the ratification of appropriate documents will be achieved. Instead, now when everything in Russia has been upset and reduced to this state, nobody will consider this seriously. [Andreyev] Thank you, Gennadiy Andreyevich.
