PART FORTY NINE: THE ZHIRINOVSKY ACT
UIS Presidential Candidate Vladimir Putin in an interview with the BBC on August 1, 2011.
Discussing the 1993 UIS Constitutional Crisis.
BBC: You also claimed that in December of 1993, during the height of the Constitutional Crisis, that the military strongly considered ousting Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
Putin: Correct.
BBC: So the military took steps to see to it that Vladimir Zhirinovsky is elected in September and then, three months later, they changed gears completely and decided to launch a coup?
Putin: A lot happened between September and December of 1993. And his refusal to overturn the Zhirinovsky Act was deeply troubling to many in the 16-man Committee for State Security and Defense; we saw it as an attempt to seize power.
BBC: But you have claimed time and time again that Zhirinovsky was in the pocket of the KGB? You said, and I quote, “Vladimir Zhirinovsky didn’t change his tie without first clearing it through me.” So how do you explain this clear contradiction?
Putin: Vladimir Zhirinovsky was, above all things, an opportunist. If there was an opportunity to hold power as a figurehead, he would jump on it. But at times he saw an opportunity that contradicted the wishes of the Committee, and he would seize upon that as well. The Polish embassy crisis was one example. The Zhirinovsky Act was another.
BBC: So he decided to try and seize power for himself?! And we are to believe that you allowed this?! The Committee did nothing about the tail wagging the dog?
Putin: You must understand, in December of 1993 everything was imploding. The fragile coalition that the Liberal Democratic Party was had finally been pushed to its limit and the Party was in the process of tearing itself apart. The former hard-line communists were finally pushed to the brink with all of the free market reforms in Moldova and Kazakhstan, and the former Yeltsin reformists who joined the party were finally fed up with Zhirinovsky’s obvious fascist tendencies. Even the true believers in the Liberal Democratic Party, men like Vice President Andrei Zavidiya, were in open revolt. Zhirinovsky gambled that he could seize power in this environment, especially since the 16-man Committee for State Security and Defense was engaged in its own internal strife.
BBC: Did this implosion engulf the junta?
Putin: Not exactly. The Committee was not particularly concerned with what happened to the Liberal Democratic Party, we already had the communists in our pockets and we were confident that we could control the largest reformist party: the Party for a Free and Democratic Russia. Our infighting was much less convoluted. We had only two factions: federalist and nationalist.
Supreme Soviet of UIS overturn Zhirinovsky Act in Russia and Georgia; Russian President denounces the vote
The Scotsman
December 3, 1993
In a sign of the growing tension between the federal government of the UIS and its largest and most powerful republic, the Supreme Council of the UIS flexed its political muscle yesterday when it voted overwhelmingly to overturn the Zhirinovsky Act in Russia, as well as similar acts in Georgia and Moldova. The Zhirinovsky Act referred to a series of controversial laws that allowed Russian president Vladimir Zhirinovsky to nationalize the military. The act, which spawned the nearly identical acts in Georgia and Moldova, was widely seen by many federalists as a dangerous precedent that threatened to tear the country apart.
“Although the Supreme Council of the UIS is considerably less powerful than it was back in Soviet times, it still has to this date retained all authority over the military,” commented a British diplomat who wished to remain anonymous, “and it is looking increasingly like it is willing to fight to retain this power.”
The military, however, has been paralyzed as numerous military units have received contradictory orders from both UIS President Anatoly Lukyanov and Russian President Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
“Prior to this crisis either the Marshal of the UIS or the 16-man Committee for State Security and Defense ensured that the orders of the president were carried out,” added the diplomat, “but right now it looks hopelessly deadlocked. With the Marshal of the UIS having been forced to resign, and with the committee bickering amongst themselves as to which president to support, I honestly think this may spiral into civil war.”
“My Russia- An Autobiography by former Russian Prime Minister Gennady Burbulis”
Published by Interbook, © 1998
CHAPTER FIFTY SIX
I had barely finished packing my items into a box when President Zhirinovsky walked into my office. He said nothing, unable to hide his contempt at having to come groveling to me. No doubt he wondered if he should have let that mob kill me the year before, but he assumed I would roll over after that; that I would never challenge him again. He proved time and time again to be a terrible judge of character. After he made an example of President Alksnis the year before he probably assumed that Lukyanov would never dare challenge him either. But across the country men were coming out in support of the UIS President. Even the military was having second thoughts about the Zhirinovsky Act. They could see that it created the one thing they always were fearful of: a framework upon which the other Republics could tear the country apart.
“Gennady,” he said sheepishly, “I know at times we have not seen…eye to eye. But I still wanted to talk to you about your upcoming service in the Duma.”
“I don’t think there is much to say,” I replied, “I haven’t taken office yet. None of us have. We don’t get sworn in until after the new year.”
“Gennady, this country may not have that much time,” he replied, “the Zionists have plunged a knife into the heart of the Russian people an-“
“Mr. President,” I replied curtly, “this is not a political rally and I am not an idiot. Claiming that the Zionists are responsible for the mess this country is in does not persuade me in the least.”
I saw the President struggle with his words as he stared at his feet. ‘My God!’ I thought to myself, ‘He honestly can’t have a real conversation with a person!’ He was so wrapped up in his idiotic rhetoric that he forgot how to speak to another human being without using words like ‘terrorist’ or ‘Turk’ or ‘Zionist’ to lean on like a crutch.
“Gennady,” he said as he lifted his head, “we need to keep the Zhirinovsky Act. The country depends on it. Without it we will be overrun by the Zion…the enemies of freedom.”
“Mr. President,” I replied firmly, “Once I am sworn into office, I plan to vote to repeal the Zhirinovsky Act. Those laws have done more to damage the Russian people than anything else outside of sanctions. The Zhirinovsky Act is the reason our country is imploding. It not only robbed us of what few freedoms we were able to wrestle out of your grip, but it also gave the Georgians and the Moldovans the means to leave the UIS. I don’t know if you realize this, but the Act that is named after you may very well be the catalyst for the destruction of the UIS.”
I saw Zhirinovsky’s face turn red as he started to stammer. He knew he was out of options. The UIS had already called the Zhirinovsky Act unconstitutional and even the lame duck Duma that voted for it was now publically admitting they made a mistake. His only hope was to crush the Chechen rebellion before we took office, but all he did was cause the rebellion to spread to Moldova and Georgia.
“So you want to side with the traitors then!” he spat back at me, “you want to work with those who would destroy our country!”
“Mr. President,” I replied coldly, “I assure you that my time working with those who would destroy our country ends as soon as I finish packing this box.”
Zhirinovsky looked stunned, just one year ago he honestly believed he created a fascist dictatorship, and that none would dare challenge him again. But now his house of cards was falling down around him.
“Do you honestly think your reformist friends will just take you back with open arms?” he said with unmistakable desperation. “After you stabbed them in the back by joining my party?! What makes you think they will ever trust you?”
“I am confident that they will,” I said firmly, “I already spoke to your opponent in the presidential race, Mikhail Arutyunov, and we are working on a coalition government. He is personally going to ask his supporters to back me for prime minister.”
Zhirinovsky nearly exploded when I told him that I was siding with the reformist. But what did he expect? All over Russia Liberal Democrats were either joining with the reformers or going back to the Communist Party. His fragile coalition was finished!
“Fine!” he yelled, “but keep in mind that I am about to pass legislation outlawing the Party for a Free and Democratic Russia! They are traitors and if you side with them you are no better than a Turk!”
“Well I suppose it is a good thing I ran as an independent,” I replied, “or are you planning to outlaw independents as well?”
MSNBC interview with Walter Mondale, Former U.S. Secretary of State
July 16, 2008
MSNBC: The UIS Constitutional Crisis, which lasted from December of 1993 to January 2nd 1994, forever changed how the world looked at the former Soviet Union, and also appeared to be clear proof that the Powell Doctrine was working even better than planned. Why do you think the Kerrey administration was so quiet in regard to what was happening?
Mondale: Well for one thing, we didn’t want anything we said to be grabbed upon by Zhirinovsky and exploited. Also it was increasingly turning into a battle between two equally distasteful factions, and we wanted to see both of them weaken themselves so that the reformers, who by and large did not directly take sides in the ‘federalist versus nationalist’ argument, could emerge. By and large they were sitting tight waiting for the same thing we were waiting for: Zhirinovsky to self destruct.
MSNBC: So was there a fear that Zhirinovsky and the Liberal Democrats could emerge stronger?
Mondale: Well he had proved resilient in the past, so we certainly never underestimated him. But it really looked like the Liberal Democratic Party was finished at that point. The LDPR was really a strange coalition of people who all jumped aboard after the failed 1991 coup. There was little ideologically that bonded them together, and when the battle between federalist and nationalist emerged, the largest and most powerful faction in the LDPR finally found the strength to leave the party and return to its roots. This, to be honest, terrified us even more that Zhirinovsky at times.
MSNBC: More than Zhirinovsky?!
Mondale: Yes. We were very, very worried about what was happening. The communists were making a comeback, and they were coming back with a vengeance.
