Derzhavnost: Aleksandr Lebed's vision for Russia

Problems of Post-Communism

Volumn 45, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 51-58

  Allensworth, Wayne ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0038898434     PISSN: 10758216     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/10758216.1998.11655781     Document Type: Article

References (79)

1. Trud (June 4, 1996).
2. Aleksandr Ivanovich Lebed, Za derzhavu obidno . . . [It Is a Pity for a Great Power . . . ] (Moscow: "Gregori-Peydzh," Redaktsiia gazety Moskovskaia, 1995), p. 447. Nevertheless, according to Lebed, Russia will always be Russia, and although the Russians are not suited to the sort of life that has ensured the level of prosperity Western Europeans enjoy, they have other strengths that are valuable in and of themselves. Lebed himself gave up drinking - something he sees as a national flaw - some time ago, declaring that he decided "to become the soberest man in our country." Komsomolskaia pravda (September 17, 1996).
3. Aleksandr Ivanovich Lebed, Za derzhavu obidno . . . [It Is a Pity for a Great Power . . . ] (Moscow: "Gregori-Peydzh," Redaktsiia gazety Moskovskaia, 1995), p. 447. Nevertheless, according to Lebed, Russia will always be Russia, and although the Russians are not suited to the sort of life that has ensured the level of prosperity Western Europeans enjoy, they have other strengths that are valuable in and of themselves. Lebed himself gave up drinking - something he sees as a national flaw - some time ago, declaring that he decided "to become the soberest man in our country." Komsomolskaia pravda (September 17, 1996).
4. Lebed, Za derzhavu obidno.
5. Zavtra, no. 34 (August 1995).
6. Argumenty i fakty, no.22 (May 1996).
7. Ibid. This interview gives a fair overview of Lebed's economic views. During the 1996 presidential campaign, different contradictory versions of a Lebed platform were published in Argumenty i fakty, Segodnia, Izvestiia, and Trud. Lebed later claimed that unauthorized drafts of his program were leaked to the press and that the programs differed more in emphasis than in substance. The varying drafts probably represent the influence of free-market economist Vitalii Naishul and the more statist-minded Sergei Glazev. In Trud (June 8, 1996), Lebed noted that he accepted some "aspects" of Naishul's views and rejected others. Lebed appears not to have settled on a ideologically dogmatic economic program, but seems prepared to apply free-market mechanisms where appropriate while preserving state regulation, particularly of strategic industries.
8. ibid. This interview gives a fair overview of Lebed's economic views. During the 1996 presidential campaign, different contradictory versions of a Lebed platform were published in Argumenty i fakty, Segodnia, Izvestiia, and Trud. Lebed later claimed that unauthorized drafts of his program were leaked to the press and that the programs differed more in emphasis than in substance. The varying drafts probably represent the influence of free-market economist Vitalii Naishul and the more statist-minded Sergei Glazev. In Trud (June 8, 1996), Lebed noted that he accepted some "aspects" of Naishul's views and rejected others. Lebed appears not to have settled on a ideologically dogmatic economic program, but seems prepared to apply free-market mechanisms where appropriate while preserving state regulation, particularly of strategic industries.
9. Argumenty i fakty, no. 22 (May 1996).
10. Sobesednik, no. 10 (March 1996).
11. "I think that the functions of the state should be confined to defense tasks, preserving law and order, fighting crime, . . . providing all citizens with equal rights and duties before the law, providing social protection for citizens, foreign policy, and public health, education and science, and the cultural heritage" (Argumenty i fakty, no. 22 [May 1996]). Lebed, then, operates from the same set of assumptions that most Russians have in mind concerning the state's role in Russian society.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Argumenty i fakty, no. 22 (May 1996).
15. Trud, June 4, 1996.
16. Ibid.
17. Trud, June 14-20, 1996.
18. Ibid.
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid.
21. Trud (June 4, 1996). In the Trud version of his presidential platform, Lebed described himself as "[a] man who knows what duty is and knows how to secure obedience and impose order." During the campaign, he also stressed his outsider status - he had not taken part in the corruption of either the old or the new regime.
22. Trud (June 4, 1996).
23. For Lebed's denials of bloody intentions, see Sobesednik, no. 10 (March 1996) and an interview on "Segodnya," NTV, February 23, 1996.
24. Trud (May 30, 1996).
25. Ibid. An interview in Sobesednik, no. 10 (March 1996), recalled Lebed's claims that his grandfather had been exiled as well. He retells his father's story in his memoirs, Za derzhovu obidno, pp. 8-10.
26. Ibid. An interview in Sobesednik, no. 10 (March 1996), recalled Lebed's claims that his grandfather had been exiled as well. He retells his father's story in his memoirs, Za derzhovu obidno, pp. 8-10.
27. Ibid. An interview in Sobesednik, no. 10 (March 1996), recalled Lebed's claims that his grandfather had been exiled as well. He retells his father's story in his memoirs, Za derzhovu obidno, pp. 8-10.
28. "Segodnya," NTV (February 23, 1996).
29. Sobesednik, no. 16 (April 1995).
30. See, for instance, Russkii vostok, no. 24 (December 1995).
31. Ibid. He has modified his views since, calling for specific limitations on the president's powers (see Segodnia [December 28, 1996]; also ORT [December 27, 1996]). As with economic tools, Lebed's view of particular political mechanisms appears to be still evolving.
32. Ibid. He has modified his views since, calling for specific limitations on the president's powers (see Segodnia [December 28, 1996]; also ORT [December 27, 1996]). As with economic tools, Lebed's view of particular political mechanisms appears to be still evolving.
33. Ibid. He has modified his views since, calling for specific limitations on the president's powers (see Segodnia [December 28, 1996]; also ORT [December 27, 1996]). As with economic tools, Lebed's view of particular political mechanisms appears to be still evolving.
34. Nezavisimaia gazeta (June 7, 1996).
35. "Vesti," RTV (June 16, 1996).
36. Trud [Sophia] (July 26, 1995). Lebed went on to say that Gorbachev "tried to cultivate cacti" at his vacation home in Foros. "All the conditions were supposed to exist - moisture and heat, but the cacti would not grow" in Russian soil.
37. Ibid.
38. Kommersant daily (March 28, 1996).
39. Trud (June 4, 1996).
40. Argumenty i fakty, no. 22 (May 1996).
41. "Segodnya," NTV (February 23, 1996).
42. Trud (June 4, 1996).
43. Za derzhavu obidno, p. 425. Such views tell the real story of Lebed's differences with the "red-brown" patriots who are nostalgic for the days of Soviet/Russian dominance of Eastern Europe. That is not to say that Lebed has not shared certain opinions in common with them, particularly his dim view of Gorbachev (his reforms were hasty and ill considered), and former Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnaze (he arranged the hasty retreat of Soviet soldiers from Eastern Europe, leaving officers virtually homeless) See Za derzhavu obidno, pp. 317-327.
44. Za derzhavu obidno, p. 425. Such views tell the real story of Lebed's differences with the "red-brown" patriots who are nostalgic for the days of Soviet/Russian dominance of Eastern Europe. That is not to say that Lebed has not shared certain opinions in common with them, particularly his dim view of Gorbachev (his reforms were hasty and ill considered), and former Soviet foreign minister Eduard Shevardnaze (he arranged the hasty retreat of Soviet soldiers from Eastern Europe, leaving officers virtually homeless) See Za derzhavu obidno, pp. 317-327.
45. Ibid., p. 446.
46. Det fri aktuelt [Copenhagen] (July 2, 1997).
47. Trud [Sofia] (July 25, 1995).
48. For more on the KRO's stated purpose, see Moskovskie novosti, no. 24 (April 9-16, 1995).
49. Zavtra, no. 34 (August 1995).
50. Argumenty i fakty, no. 23 (June 1996).
51. Trud (October 11, 1995).
52. "Who is the enemy?" that NATO expansion is directed against, Lebed asked rhetorically in 1995. The only answer that seemed reasonable to him was "Russia" (Zavtra, no. 34 [August 1995]). Western business activity designed to exploit their rival as both a potential market and a source of raw materials appeared to Lebed to be part of an overall plan by some elements to keep his country subordinate to the West - which explained the foisting off on Russia of what Lebed, and many other Russians, consider to have been bad advice during the initial phase of Yeltsin's reforms. His trips to the West appear to have allayed his suspicions of foreign business interests somewhat, as he now actively seeks Western investment in Russian industries, presumably with certain limitations (see Izvestiia [April 15, 1997]).
53. "Who is the enemy?" that NATO expansion is directed against, Lebed asked rhetorically in 1995. The only answer that seemed reasonable to him was "Russia" (Zavtra, no. 34 [August 1995]). Western business activity designed to exploit their rival as both a potential market and a source of raw materials appeared to Lebed to be part of an overall plan by some elements to keep his country subordinate to the West - which explained the foisting off on Russia of what Lebed, and many other Russians, consider to have been bad advice during the initial phase of Yeltsin's reforms. His trips to the West appear to have allayed his suspicions of foreign business interests somewhat, as he now actively seeks Western investment in Russian industries, presumably with certain limitations (see Izvestiia [April 15, 1997]).
54. ABC [Madrid] (March 27, 1996).
55. Nezavisimaia gazeta (May 16, 1996).
56. RIA (October 9, 1996).
57. Ibid.
58. Interfax [Moscow] (July 8, 1997).
59. Zavtra, no. 34 (August 1995); also Za derzhavu obidno, p. 448.
60. Zavtra, no. 34 (August 1995); also Za derzhavu obidno, p. 448.
61. Za derzhavu obidno, p. 424. Lebed's derzhavnost stresses the role of the army in Russia society as both its defender and an inculcator of patriotic values. See Za derzhavu obidno, pp. 422-29; Zavtra, no. 34 (August 1995).
62. Za derzhavu obidno, p. 424. Lebed's derzhavnost stresses the role of the army in Russia society as both its defender and an inculcator of patriotic values. See Za derzhavu obidno, pp. 422-29; Zavtra, no. 34 (August 1995).
63. Za derzhavu obidno, p. 424. Lebed's derzhavnost stresses the role of the army in Russia society as both its defender and an inculcator of patriotic values. See Za derzhavu obidno, pp. 422-29; Zavtra, no. 34 (August 1995).
64. Za derzhavu obidno, p. 80.
65. Ibid., p. 342.
66. Ibid., p. 360. Lebed himself has noted that his own pronounced penchant for insubordination is connected to his sense of self-respect and honor. See, for instance, the incident related in his memoirs (pp. 234-35) in which he claims to have refused an order to move against peaceful demonstrators during the disturbances in Baku in November 1988.
67. Ibid., p. 443. Lebed's distaste for military involvement in political disputes is one of the subthemes of his memoirs. He claims not to have favored either side during the August 1991 events and stayed out of the October 1993 clash between Yeltsin and the Supreme Soviet. He has called the 1993 episode "Russia's shame" (p. 443).
68. Ibid., p. 443. Lebed's distaste for military involvement in political disputes is one of the subthemes of his memoirs. He claims not to have favored either side during the August 1991 events and stayed out of the October 1993 clash between Yeltsin and the Supreme Soviet. He has called the 1993 episode "Russia's shame" (p. 443).
69. Ibid., p. 414. Lebed has many times repeated the story of his having witnessed as a boy the suppression of workers' protests in Novocherkassk in 1962. "We were sitting in a chestnut tree," he replied, "and then a round of fire from an automatic weapon hit the people who were sitting above and below me. . . . That was on 1 June, the Day of Protection of Children in 1962." Sobesednik, no. 16 (April 1995).
70. Ibid., p. 414. Lebed has many times repeated the story of his having witnessed as a boy the suppression of workers' protests in Novocherkassk in 1962. "We were sitting in a chestnut tree," he replied, "and then a round of fire from an automatic weapon hit the people who were sitting above and below me. . . . That was on 1 June, the Day of Protection of Children in 1962." Sobesednik, no. 16 (April 1995).
71. Trud (October 11, 1995). Lebed states that thus far there has been no real reform of the army, "nothing but flimflam." He criticized the top-heavy state of many military units: "You could eliminate all those mongrel reduced-strength units with 30 officers and two men. Let's have 10 times fewer divisions, but combine them to form expanded formations. . . . And [more] combat training!"
72. Ibid.
73. Komsomolskaia pravda (September 17, 1996).
74. Izvestiia (September 26, 1996). In response to Yeltsin's call for an all-volunteer military by the year 2000, Lebed noted that neither France nor Germany have professional armies. Lebed has also asserted, "Our country is such that maintaining an army of less than 1.5 million men is simply senseless."
75. Boris Yeltsin, Against the Grain, trans. Michael Glenny (New York: Summit Books, 1990), pp. 14, 16.
76. "Vesti," RTV (June 6, 1991).
77. See, for instance, Komsomolskaia pravda (June 25, 1996) and Nezavisimaia gazeta (June 18, 1996).
78. See, for instance, Komsomolskaia pravda (June 25, 1996) and Nezavisimaia gazeta (June 18, 1996).
79. Za derzhavu obidno, p. 442.