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<text id=90TT0729>
<link 91TT2016>
<link 91TT1975>
<link 90TT0658>
<title>
Mar. 26, 1990: Soviet Union:Nothing Less Than A Coup
</title>
<history>
TIME--The Weekly Newsmagazine--1990
Mar. 26, 1990 The Germans
</history>
<article>
<source>Time Magazine</source>
<hdr>
WORLD, Page 26
SOVIET UNION
Nothing Less Than a Coup
</hdr>
<body>
<p>More power for Gorbachev, less for his party, but hard going is
ahead as Lithuania leads the republics down the road to
independence
</p>
<p>By John Kohan/Moscow--With reporting by Anne Blackman/Moscow
</p>
<p> Question: What is the difference between the Soviet Union
and the U.S.?
</p>
<p> Answer: In the U.S., Gorbachev would probably be elected
President.
</p>
<p> Popularly elected he was not, but Mikhail Gorbachev
nevertheless swore himself in last week as the first real
President the U.S.S.R. has ever had. As the parliamentarians
at the third session of the Congress of People's Deputies rose
to their feet, Gorbachev walked from his seat to a small table
by a red hammer-and-sickle flag. Placing his right hand on a
copy of the Soviet constitution, he intoned, "I solemnly swear
to serve faithfully the peoples of our country, to strictly
abide by the constitution of the U.S.S.R., to guarantee the
rights and freedoms of our citizens and conscientiously fulfill
the high duties entrusted to me as President of the Soviet
Union."
</p>
<p> For seven decades Soviets have heard countless promises from
their Communist leaders, but never an official oath to honor
the constitution. The document in question was an outdated
product of the Brezhnev era. Gorbachev's new office, and the
expanded powers that go along with it, were won by
parliamentary, not popular, vote. But there was no denying the
fact that almost five years to the day after he assumed the
position of General Secretary of the Communist Party, Gorbachev
had engineered nothing less than a coup d'etat, effectively
ending his party's monopoly on power. Said he: "We all can feel
the first real results of political change. A system of genuine
people power is being created and the groundwork laid for
building a country governed by law."
</p>
<p> Some Soviets complained that Gorbachev's accession to
executive power hardly resembled true democracy. Others
grumbled that his political changes have brought precious
little improvement to a distressed economy. Gorbachev would
probably win election if tested at the polls--for want of a
real alternative. Yet despite his sweeping new powers, he faces
a populace disenchanted with his failure to fulfill the
promises he has made and increasingly skeptical that he is
moving radically enough to do so.
</p>
<p> During the four-day congress the Soviet leader heard some
of the bluntest public criticism to date of his policies.
Economic reformer Nikolai Shmelev complained that "as far as
the economy is concerned, we have built a madhouse and continue
to live according to the laws of a madhouse." Conservative
Deputies warned that society was "slipping into a swamp even
more boggy than in the stagnation period." At one point Deputy
Teimuraz Avaliani, from a Siberian coal-mining region, even
urged the parliamentarians "not to vote for Gorbachev under any
circumstances."
</p>
<p> They did, but his victory was a far cry from the 99.9%
landslides once manufactured for Soviet leaders. Now allowed
to vote their own minds, 495 Deputies opposed Gorbachev, 54
abstained, another 122 walked off with their ballots to protest
the undemocratic spectacle and as many as 245 failed to
participate at all. Against no competition, he won with a
victory majority of only 59%.
</p>
<p> The President will need all the support--or courage--he
can muster to handle the challenges of his office. Conspicuous
by their absence during the voting were most of the Lithuanian
Deputies. Four days before, their state parliament had picked
a President of its own, Vytautas Landsbergis, the soft-spoken
head of the Sajudis popular-front movement. In one of his first
official acts, Landsbergis proclaimed Lithuania an independent
state. The bold show of defiance drew a rebuke from the
congress, which overwhelmingly affirmed that Soviet laws
"continue to apply on Lithuanian territory." Gorbachev labeled
the Lithuanian decision "illegal and invalid," winning
applause from the assembly when he ruled out negotiations on
the grounds that "you carry out negotiations with a foreign
country." On Friday he gave the republic three days to renounce
its independence declaration.
</p>
<p> Lithuania's rush to secede was prompted in part by fears
that Gorbachev might use his new powers to declare a state of
emergency in the republic as a way to regain control. But
Gorbachev appears to be committed to finding a political
solution to the crisis. "There would not be negotiations but
a repectful dialogue," he said. Even Politburo conservative
Yegor Ligachev firmly ruled out military intervention, noting
that "tanks cannot help in this business."
</p>
<p> Moscow may be hoping that an economic cold shower will be
enough to douse some of Lithuania's ardor. The Baltic state may
produce more than enough food to feed its population of 3.7
million, but it depends almost entirely on the Soviet Union for
oil, natural gas and raw materials, running up a yearly trade
deficit with the union of $2.3 billion. Engineers at the
Vilnius Furniture Factory, which buys 30% of its timber from
other republics, say Moscow has already cut back on supplies
and intends to increase timber prices one-third. Other Soviet
enterprises may also decide not to supply Lithuania with goods
unless they are paid in hard currency. Such pressures could
bring on factory closures, unemployment and inflation.
</p>
<p> Despite some morning-after trepidation, the Lithuanians are
determined to establish customs and visa procedures, print
their own currency and even lease planes from state-owned
Aeroflot to start a Lithuanian airline. If Gorbachev continues
to demand an indemnity of some $34 billion for Soviet
investment during the past five decades, the republic is
prepared to submit a bill of its own for compensation for the
300,000 citizens that the Lithuanians claim were killed,
imprisoned or exiled as the Soviets took control of their
homeland and for economic mismanagement by the Kremlin. An
equally contentious issue is what to do about the 50,000
Lithuanian soldiers currently in the Soviet armed forces, now
that the Supreme Council has passed a law abolishing compulsory
military service.
</p>
<p> Secessionist fever has been simmering as well in neighboring
Estonia, which last week followed its sister republic in
requesting talks with Moscow. The Caucasian republic of Georgia
is also flirting with defection, after parliamentarians in
Tbilisi denounced their incorporation into the union. Local
nationalists are calling for a boycott of parliamentary
elections on March 25.
</p>
<p> To stem the separatist tide, Gorbachev announced plans to
press for a new treaty of the union, confirming the sovereignty
of the republics. But he also promised to "radicalize"
perestroika, speed up the timetable of the government
economic-reform program, cut the state budget deficit, cope
with the crisis in agriculture and food supplies, solve the
growing refugee problem and guarantee the "stability of public
order and the security of citizens"--a tall order for any
leader, much less one as beset as Gorbachev.
</p>
<p> Where does this leave the party's ruling Politburo? Lost in
the dust, it would seem. Last week the congress formally
amended Article 6 of the constitution to eliminate any
reference to the party's "leading role." Now Communists must
share political influence with "other political parties, trade
unions, youth organizations and mass movements." But Gorbachev
continued to hold on to his own leading role in the party. That
may only be a question of months, at least until the party
holds its congress in early summer. "As President," he told the
parliamentarians, "I want to wish the Communist Party--the
country's most influential political force--success in
implementing its platform for its 28th Party Congress." Those
words had the sound of a fond farewell.
</p>
</body>
</article>
</text>