Subject: Message from Moscow (frw)
From: [email-masked] (Serge Viznyuk)
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1993 19:50:42 -0400 (EDT)
Newsgroups: talk.politics.soviet,relcom.talk,relcom.politics,relcom.fido.su.general

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From: [email-masked] (Michael A. Gruntman)
Subject: INFO-RUSS: News from Moscow

Sasha:

I am forwarding you a message that I have just received from
my Moscow friends (incidentally, there never were anti-Soviet).
If you feel it could be of some interest to info-russ, please
post it.  I removed my friends` names.

			Misha Gruntman

----- Begin Included Message -----

Hello friends!

     Moscow again is trying to interfere with comfortable
and regular life of the rest of the world. Of course
decorations are slightly different from those two years ago,
but frankly speaking the stakes are equally high.
     Or maybe even higher. Those who oppose Yeltsin at the
moment are much more aggressive than the old communist
leaders of the USSR. They (speaker and his allies) already
explained that "traitors must be shot" and "CIA spies hiding
among us will pay the highest price", etc, etc, etc. The new
law passed today promising a death penalty to everyone
acting against decisions made by the Soviets. There will be
REAL purges if our Vice President and Parliament speaker get
enough power to enforce their laws...
     The most significant difference between 1991 and now is
that nothing will be solved in the streets. No dramatic show
this time, sorry. This is the fight for the power among
political elite (a new one and that preserved from the USSR
times). And these people live not only in Moscow. What will
really matter is the voices from regions, from local
authorities. As we see from what is reported now on TV and
radio (newspapers are too slow at the moment), all over
Russia mayors and local administrations mostly support the
President while local legislatures (Soviets) severely oppose
Yeltsin. It is very difficult to decide from Moscow which
branch of power will get an upper hand in different regions.
     For a person from the street in Moscow now nothing
interesting happens. A very modest (by Moscow standards)
permanent demonstration (3 to 10 thousand, depending on the
time of day and weather conditions) of pro-Communist parties
makes noises near the White House. Radio and TV broadcasts
look pretty normal: political talks, astrology , and rock
music. No serious strikes or mass protests have been
reported yet (and in this respect I do trust our journalists
- if there were any, they would fill up the air
immediately!).
     Poor Russian ruble lost another 7% of its value as a
result of panic in the banks. The official exchange rate
(determined daily as a result of an open auction) dropped
overnight from 1040 to 1110 rubles for $1. An optimist would
say that this is a good sign, we at last have some areas of
the market which react as a market should.
     But the first day does not matter much. I can imagine
that many regions of Russia will refuse to follow Yeltsin's
orders and organize the new elections in two months. Because
many local Soviets suspect (and with a good reason!) that
after the Supreme Soviet is outlawed, their turn will come
very soon. It is also very important (and very sad too!)
that Constitutional Court took the side of the Parliament
and suggested the new impeachment...
     The most unpleasant thing is that we again feel like
someone in a trash bin when a new sack of stinking mess is
emptied on his head. Why in hell they don't let us just work
and live?! I do not trust most of the ministers any more
than our deputies. Why in hell do they try to make
themselves permanent stars on TV and news? They are too poor
actors.
     It hurts to be ashamed of the country where one lives
and where one feels to belong... Our Russian political
leaders are definitely the curse of this wonderful land.
     Good sign is that why I am typing this, on the screen
of my TV a popular show is broadcasted live - and a very
famous comic is mocking both Yeltsin and Khazbulatov. Doing
it just perfectly! That's better than Swan Lake of 1991. And
anyway it's a new fun to live in a country with two
Presidents who are busy cancelling orders of each other!
Have you folks ever tried that, eh? Be envious, perhaps you
never will.
     Okay. Enough for today. In fact, not much interesting
to tell you. CNN tonight also did not tell or show anything
clever or important. Don't worry - at least not yet!

                    With best wishes,
                    .................
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