The USSR 1987-1991: Marxist Perspectives 0391037722, 9780391037724

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Citation preview

The USSR 1987-1991: Marxist Perspectives

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REVOLUTIONARY STUDIES Series Editor: PAUL LE BLANC Socialism horn Below

Hal Draper Essal·s Selected, Edited, and with an Introduction • by E. Haberkern World Revolution 1917-1936 The Rise and Fall of the Communist International

C. L. R. James ~farxism

in Latin America from 1909 to the Present: An 1\nthology

Edited by ,lfichael Lowy On Changing the World Essays in Political Philosophy, from Karl ~farx to Walter Benjan1in

,Michael LOW)' Revolutionarv• Marxism and Social Realitv• in the 20th Centurv: • Collected Essavs of Ernest Mandel •

Ernest Mandel

C. L. R. James and Revolutionary ~arxism : Selected Writings 1939-1949

Edited b)· Scott illcLemee and Paul Le Blanc The Marxists and the Jev.-ish Question: The History of a Debate (1843-1943)

Enz.o Traverso The USSR 1987-1991: Marxist Perspectives Edited bJ' ,._Iarilyn f'ogt-Downe_r The Responsibility of Intellectuals: Selected Essays on Marxist Traditions in Cultural Commitment

Alan M. Wald

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Edited by

MARILYN VOGT-DOWNEY

HUMANITIES PRESS New Jersey

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Univ. Library, UC Szi~!a Cruz 1993

First published in 1993 by Humanities Press International, Inc., Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey On16

© 1993 by Marilyn Vogt-Downey Library of Congrea Cataloging-in-Publication Data The USSR 1987-1991:Marxist perspectives I edited by Marilyn Vogt -Downey. p. cm. - (Revolutionary studies) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-391--03n2-2 1. Soviet Union-Politics and government-198~1991 . 2. Communism-Soviet Union. 3. Trotsky, Leon, 1879-1940. 4. Socialism-Soviet Union. I. Vogt-Downey, Marilyn, 194311. Series. DK288. U86 1993 320.947--dc20 92-17792 CIP A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library Map on page xiii, drawn by Vincent Kotschar, from Brinton/ Christopher/Wolff. A History of Civilization: 1815 to tht Prtstnt, 4e, © 1971, p. 1120. Reprinted by permission of Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without written permission from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America

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bl( ;; 8J Ui[~

Contents

1·1:1.J •

Acknowledgments Abbreviations Maps

lX •

XI •• •

XIII

Introduction

1

PART I. PERESTROIKA, GLASNOST, AND THE WORKERS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14

Introduction Economic Refor1n and Democratization \\'hat's in It for the Workers? Political Crisis at the Top Miners' Strike Opens New Act in Perestroika Soviet Elections Rumblings below the Surface Workers of the USSR-Unite! Gorbachev Forced to Retreat on Economic Plans: Soviet Masses Intervene The Capitalist Market and the Workers' State: Assessing the Refor1ns in Eastern Europe and the USSR Soviet Commt1nist Party Congress Registers Dramatic Changes From Perestroika to Perestrelka? The Soviet Economy: Difficult Birth of a Workers' Movement "We Must Decide What Is Rational'' : An Interview with the Soviet Miners' Leader Who Will Save Russia from Yeltsin? Deepening Economic Crisis in the USSR

11 13 23 33 39 57 68

79

91 107 119 123 135 147 151

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•

CONTE:"JTS

VI

PART II. REBELLION OF THE NON-RUSSIANS

15 16 17

18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

26

Introduction National Struggle and Political Revolution in Armenia and Azerbaijan (Part 1) National Struggle and Political Revolution in Armenia and Azerbaijan (Part 2 ) ''We Need an Ideology'' The Politics of Baltic Independence Gorbachev Threatens Military Crackdown Looking Down the Chilean Road Ukrainian Movement Faces Historic Tasks Mass National Movement Launched in Ukraine First Congress of the Popular Movement for the Reconstruction of Ukraine For the Independence of Soviet Ukraine The Lviv Strike Committee The Role of Workers in the Ukrainian National Movement Ukrainian Solidarity with Lithuania: An Interview with an RUKH Leader

165 t 66

181 194 199 209 216 220 224 229 235

256 262

PART Ill. HISTORY IS KNOCKING AT THE DOOR 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34

Introduction The Causes and Consequences of Bukharin's Rehabilitation The Train of History Glasnost Changes Trotsky's hnage from ''Mad Dog'' to Tragic ''Demon''! Soviet Press Agency Does a Turnaround on Trotskyism Current Events in the Soviet Union Trotsky's Voice Heard Again in the USSR Trotsky: On the Road to the Truth about Him An Interview with Professor V. I. Billik '' Afterword'' to the Soviet Edition of Leon Trotsky's The Stalin School of Falsification Digitized by

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265 267 271 274 277 280 288 299 309

••

Contents

VII

317

35 The New School of Falsification PART IV. POLITICS AND THE PEOPLE Introduction 36 Conversations in the USSR: Diary of a Trip

331 332

(Part 1) 37 Conversations in the USSR: Diary of a Trip

345

(Part 2) 38 Conversations in the USSR: Diary of a Trip

355

(Part 3) 39 ''Nobody Sees Perestroika from a Woman's

40 41

42

43 44

45

46 47 48 49 50

Point of View'': An Interview with Olga A. Voronina of the USSR Academy of Sciences A Visit to the USSR ''Our Program Is Self-Management and SelfGovernment'': An Interview with a Leader of the Movement for a New Socialist Party in Russia ''Problems Facing Workers in the USSR Today'': An Interview with Soviet Trade Union Activists The After1nath of Chernobyl: Four Years after the Nuclear Disaster in Ukraine Shades of Green: An Interview with a Soviet Ecology Activist Potential for a Conscious, Working-Class Revolutionary Movement in the USSR Discussion by Soviet Revolutionaries Introduction to the Trade Union ''Independence'' Self-Management versus Nomenklatura Capitalism: An Interview with Alexander Buzgalin Declaration from Soviet Revolutionists: Revolutionary Proletarian Cells Direct Action and Left Unity: An Interview with a Soviet Anarchist Digitized by

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365 373

385 393 407 419 425 438 444 452 462 467

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•••

CONTENTS

Vlll

51 Perestroika and the Arms Race 52 Latin American Communist Parties: The Impact of Perestroika

471 478

PART V. A NEW STAGE OPENS 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60

Introduction Understanding the Soviet Coup Boris Kagarlitsky Explains the Moscow Coup Yeltsin Extends His Power A View from the Soviet Left Moscow Appeal for a Party of Labor Soviet Trade Unions Back Party of Labor ''We Are Not Conspirators'' Since the Coup in the USSR

485 486 492 496 502 505 507 510 513

Contributors

523 525

Index

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Acknowledgments It is impossible to name everyone who has in some way contributed to making this book possible. Among the many who stand out arc Frank and Sarah Lovell, veteran American Trotskyists whose decades of work toward building the needed revolutionary Marxist and workers' movement in this country have so inspired me and many in my generation to follow their example-they have always been there to encourage me to pursue my work devoted to the Left Opposition and related developments in the former USSR; Morris Lewit, a founder of the Trotskyist movement in the United States in the 1920s, who, with his vast experience and knowledge, continues to serve the revolutionary movement both here and abroad, and who has done so much to encourage and support me in making contacts with new forces moving into public life in the former Soviet Union since the glasnost period; George (Saunders) Shriver, who first got me involved in translating Leon Trotsky's writings and samizdat documents from the USSR in the early 1970s, and who has been a model to me because of his meticulous standards ofwork; Gerry Foley, whose vast linguistic skills and understanding and promotion of Lenin's position on the nationalities question have endowed him with singular importance in the world Marxist movement today, and who has consistently enlightened and motivated me in this regard; Paul Le Blanc, the editor of this series, who first developed the idea of this collection, and who was always available to assist me when dilemmas arose; the Humanities Press staff, Rebecca Hogancamp (my copycditor) and especially Cindy Kaufman-Nixon (my production editor), who never lost patience with me and whose knowledge and experience turned my rough, complicated manuscript into an attractive volume; and, finally, Keith Ashfield, the president of Humanities Press, who barely flinched when I turned in some 1,350 pages of manuscript and tactfully assisted me in honing it down to a portable size, and whose warm and approachable manner and interest in my area of study made it possible for this volume to appear. Special thanks as well should go to Colin Meade of International Viewpoint and Randal Hepner and Steve Bloom of Bulletin in Defense of Marxism for their absolutely indispensable technical assistance in preparing the manuscript. I must also express special gratitude to Bill Koehnlein of the New York Marxist School, a professional indexer, who helped me by compiling the entire and marvelous index for this volume, and whose expertise and diligence have added immeasurably to the value of this book . •

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x

ACK'.'JO UILEDGMENT S

Finally, I must express my undying gratitude to Viola Goembel, my mother, who first encouraged me to undertake the study of Russian in 1962--thereb y forever transforming my life and whose advice helped me make this book my own; Erika Vogt, my daughter, who probably sacrificed the most to make this book possible; and to Nicholas Downey, my husband, without whose limitless patience, encouragem ent, and support the work on this book would never have been completed. This collection contains articles from the following publications, all of whom have graciously granted permission to reprint here. A notation on the title page of each article indicates the issue of the journal and the date of the issue in which the article appeared.

Bulletin in Defense of Marxism, P.O. Box 1317, New York, N .Y. 10009. BIDOM describes itself as ''a journal dedicated to the process of clarifying the program and theory of revolutionary Marxism-o f discussing its application to the class struggle both internationally and in the United States." It is published monthly by the Fourth Internationa list Tendency. International Marxist Review, 2 rue Richard Lenoir, 93108, Montreuil, France. IMR is published twice a year under the auspices of the United Secretariat of the Fourth International . International Viewpoint, 2 rue Richard Lenoir, 9310S, Montreuil, France. IV describes itself as "a fortnightly review of news and analysis published under the auspices of the United Secretariat of the Fourth International." Marxist Monthly, SA Priory Road, London NS 7EX. MM describes itself as the "theoretical journal of the Marxist Party of the British Section of the International Committee of the Fourth Internationa l." Novaya gazyeta, Ploshchad Proletarskoy Diktatury 6, Leningrad (previous address). NG was the weekly newspaper of a reform current inside the Young Communist League (Komsomol) until the Komsomol dissolved in September 1991. It has since continued as an independent publication. Socialist Organizer, P.O . Box S23, London SEtS, England 4NA. SO is a weekly newspaper.

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Abbreviations A&F APF APS AUCCTU AUCP (B) AZLK

BIDOM BO

cc ccw CP CP (B) CPSU

cw DP DWMI FI FMLN FSLN G-7

IMF 1.\-fR IV

KGB LPF

MM Af,'\/

MP NEP

Argumenty i fakty Azerbaijan People's Front Atomic Power Station All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions All-Union Communist party (Bolshevik) A giant auto plant in Moscow employing 20,000 workers Bulletin in Defense of Marxism Byulletin oppozitsii Central Committee of the Communist party of the Soviet Union Lenin's Complete Collected Works Communist party Communist party (Bolshevik) Communist party of the Soviet Union Trotsky's Collected Works Democratic Platform Democratic Workers Movement "Independence" Fourth International Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (El Salvador) Sandinista National Liberation Front (Nicaragua) Group of Seven financial powers International Monetary Fund International Marxist Review International Viewpoint State Security police of the Kremlin Leningrad People's Front Marxist Monthly Moscow News or the Russian-language Moskovskiye novostr• Marxist Platform New Economic Policy •

XI

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••

ABBREVIATIONS

Xll

NG NKVD OGPU PF RSDLP RSFSR RUK.H SD

so SR SSR SWP TASS VAZ

Novaya gazyeta State Security police of the Kremlin State Security police of the Kremlin People's Front Russian Social Democratic Labor party Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic Popular Movement for the Reconstruction of Ukraine Social Democratic party Socialist Organizer Socialist Revolutionary party Soviet Socialist Republic Socialist Workers party Official Soviet News Service A giant auto plant in Togiliatti employing 140,000 workers

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' < > -4; "Democratic Russia" movement and, 156; economic reform ideas, 88-89; economic reform plan hindered, 515-16; election of, 88; gains from coup, 494; Gorbachev aided by, 488; Gorbachev compared with, 147-48; Gorbachev's economic program compared with, 460-61; intellectuals and, 148; leaves Communist party, 109-10; Macneil/Lehrer Newshour interview with, 89; meets with coal miners, 157; "9 plus 1" accords, 161; 1990 miners' strike and, 139 40; popularity of, 150; as populist, 156; postcoup power usurpation by, 51}-14; power extended following coup, 49fr.501; role in 1989 miners' strike, 49; votes received by, 60; workplace political organizations banned by, 491 Y cscnin, Sergei A., 29 Yevladov, Alexander, 70, 74 Yevsyukov, A., 39, 40 Y evtushcnko, Y evgcny, 284 Yoffe, G., 430 Young Communist League, 30. Stt also Komsomol Youth Committee on the Osh Events, 432-33 Youth gangs, 337 Yurasov, Dmitri, 282 Zaslavskaya, Tatyana, 26, 61, 350 Za vilunu Ultrainu, 264 Zhukov, Georgy K., 360 Zinoviev, Grigori, 269, 271, 294, 312. 324, 329 Znamya, 428 Znaniye Society, 340 Zvaniya, Dmitri: discusses WIRFI confercnce, 43S-39 Zverev, Aleksei, 431

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