BORIS YELTSIN'S March 20 declaration of presidential rule, and his attempt to sack officials opposed to him, has its roots in the deep crisis of the Russian economy.
The deadlock between Yeltsin and the Congress of People's Deputes is over the proposals for a deepening marketisadon and privatisation of the economy, without which further Western economic aid wil not be orthcoming Key to Yeltsin's proposals is a law on bankruptcies. which will allow 'unprofitable enterprises to go bust. Until now, while the disruption of the state planning system has thrown the economy into chaos, nationalised firms have been kept afloat by state subsidies, which has resulted in rock. eng inflabon.
eltsin's proposals on the other lapse. A wave of bankruptcies would put tens of milions on the dole.
Who is resisting Yeltsin in the Con gress of Depuses? Far from being binkered "Bolsheviks', his opponents around Khasbulator represent the managers, enterprise directors, the sed to the nationalised industries, and have no short-term future if the nationalised sector is hung out to dry.
Jobs at stake
Doubtless the sympathies of mary industrial workers is with these people; despite collapsing living standards, state credit is kooping the Muscovites protest at cigarette shortage enterprises open, and kooping mil fons in work Yeltsin's alternative is to subject enterprises to the full rigours of the market, allowing the 'unprofitable to go to tre wail, i to nope diat to will agor a further $24 bilion promise the West, and a transition to fu cale capitalsm. This scheme is wild. in the end completoly impossible.
To regenerate the Russian economy on the basis of profitability. judged at world prices, means a huge capitalisation of the Russian So far Russia has had just promises from the West - further ald s by no means guaranteed. Any attempt to force these measures throuch would roduce Russia lo penury and third-world" conditons.
Many comparisons are made between potential Western aid and the Marshall Plan which poured billons of dollars from the US into Europe after the second world war. But that aid came on the back of a growing boom in world capitalism, not a growing cotYeltsin's decision to resort to presidential decree, and go for a referendum, is a desperate gamble. Whatever the result of the referenpolitical chaos with the army waiting in the wings. Opposing Yeltsin are not just the economic elite, but reactionary lussian nabonalist forces, of whom the leading representative is Yeltsin's 'deputy Rutskol.
Evolution
The present struggle casts a spot. santon the evaluson of hussa and ow rest of the CIS since the collapse of the USSR. Certainly Russia has a proArchitect President Mitterand in the Cote D' Azure, the politically most backward part of the country.
inlikely that Le Pen will have more than a couple of deputies in the National Assembly.
On the left, there are signs that the Communist Party (Cr) has for the moment stemmed its long decline. PCF leader Marchais, while deeply mired in his party's traditional nationalism, party from the SP government to the left.
On the far left, major campaigns were run by Lutte Ourriere (Workers Struggle), and by an alliance 'A Gauche Vraiment' (Really to the left), which included the LCR, French section of the Fourth International. capitalist government, but free market capitalism has not been established.
The weight of the state enterprises in the Russian economy is stil absolutely decisive; it is just that the col lapse ol the bureaucrato commanc system, which set goals and overall Jans, has made the 1 functioning of the statised system even more irrational and chaotic.
Now there is a hybrid social sys. tem, a system in imbo and collapse. Such a state of aftairs can continue to exist for a long time, but not forever Sooner or later there has to be a funThe independent workers' movement, and the Russian left, are today far too weak to impose a socialist solu. bon. The way is becoming clear for victory in the referendum will only accelerate that process.
Central points of the LCR campaign included the fight for a 35-hour week with no loss of pay, and for full equality for immigrant workers.
The Socialist Party came to power in 1981 on basis of an in the Union of the Left, and behind rhetoric of maior social change. Since then, the SP has declined numericall v.and all its main leaders looking towards contre-lett alliances with the right.
choice' on offer to French left and centre-right alliances.
A real anti-capitalist force for socialism will need new forces and new leaders. And that will need new waves of struggle, which are certain if the right stays in power.