U.S. Is Blinded by Potemkin Democracy : Russia: In rallying behind Yeltsin, we signal that only a pro-America stance, not true reform, is important.

To call Russia’s parliamentary elections Sunday free and fair would be imprudent, but in the scheme of its thousand-year history, they are the most democratic to date.

In Russia and abroad, there are many forces that are attempting to disrupt and discredit the process of these elections, which will determine the fate of Russian democracy. Boris Yeltsin’s team has attempted to manipulate this process, and in doing so, has created great mistrust toward his administration. No electoral law has been adopted--only presidential decrees. A month following the disbandment of Parliament, Yeltsin issued more than 200 of them, most of which remain a mystery to the majority of Russian society.

These edicts affect the election of the upper house of Parliament, term limitations for Parliament members and the adoption of a new constitution. It is even unclear as to what role the future Parliament will play. But, as is apparent from Yeltsin’s actions, it will be kept to a minimum.

Stalin once remarked that it wasn’t important who and how a person voted, only who and how the votes were counted. Keeping the Soviet dictator’s advice in mind, Yeltsin created an electoral commission made up entirely of his supporters, which remains under government control. In the peripheral regions and outlying areas, the processes of organizing the elections and calculating the vote have been farmed out to local presidential representatives. Even though the population has the right to vote against the president, it was necessary to prevent such “well-meaning democratic gestures” from backfiring against Yeltsin.

There is no doubt that the results will be grounds for a major scandal. After October’s military actions in Moscow, the opposition press in the capital was severely curtailed. Besides the censorship of the print media, the pro-Yeltsin position was portrayed around the clock on television, creating unequal conditions for political campaigning. The main body of candidates running for election, including those in “Russia’s Choice,” the party that officially supports Yeltsin, is made up of high officials from the present government who, therefore, have great visibility. A number of officials in the Yeltsin camp have taken advantage of their privileged position. Those who are in government circles have appeared before the public to deliver a speech, only to turn the discussion into a campaign advertisement for their own personal advantage.

Between state and local authorities, conflict is rising. After the events of Oct. 4, the ambitions of local authority were pacified, but only briefly. Recently, the urge to take control over their own regions has significantly increased. In response to their demonstrations, the president issued a decree stating that the representatives of the upper house will not be chosen by election but rather be appointed by representatives of the local elite.

Under such conditions, America’s desire to preserve democracy in Russia has little significance and does not bode well among Russians. Americans do not understand the nuances of the Russian political process. President Clinton in fact lessened his authority in Russia by supporting Yeltsin during the bombardment of Parliament. Today, there is great public belief that America does not stand behind true democracy in Russia, but rather behind any pro-American supporter who happens to be in power. In his rally behind Yeltsin, Clinton failed to keep in mind that many of those deputies who were being shot at in the White House are now running for election and may soon be working in the new “democratic” Parliament, where they will once again enjoy the support of the American government.