RUSSIA VOTES ON A FUTURE : Voices

Comments from Moscow voters leaving polls after Sunday election.

Nadezhda Petrovna Kushnir, 75, retired

Voted for constitution and for Russia’s Choice

“We need law and order in this country. People can’t exist without law. They need discipline. We need the new constitution. This will help end fights between the president and Parliament. I can’t say my life is very cloudless now. But it is not getting worse. I see signs that it is changing for the better. My pension was raised yesterday. A little thing, but pleasant. . . .

“I voted for Russia’s Choice. I trust (President Boris N.) Yeltsin and I trust (First Deputy Prime Minister Yegor T.) Gaidar. They are helping my country to revive after the terrible Communist past. My father was thrown into prison and perished during the Great Purge in 1937. I suffered a lot under the Communists. It feels so good to vote against them, although it cannot bring my father back to me.”

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Lidiya V. Obukhova, 45, economist

Voted against constitution and for centrist Democratic Party

“In the April referendum I blindly supported Yeltsin. But since then much has changed in my attitude. Whatever the political differences, brother must not kill brother. And that’s what happened last October. There is no justification for it. And look at all his latest little dishonesties! He eased our taxes yesterday, he raised pensions for very old people yesterday, he doubled budget salaries the day before yesterday and many other things. Yes, these are all good decisions. But what prevented him from doing it earlier? He is throwing bones at me, expecting me to wiggle my tail and be happy. But Mr. President, you forget one little thing, that I am a human being with honor and dignity and I expect to be treated accordingly.”

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Boris L. Kreindlin, 20, student

Voted for constitution and for Russia’s Choice

“We shouldn’t argue now whether the constitution is bad or good. There is no time for it. Can’t we see that Yeltsin needs it? And he asks us to give it to him. And it is only natural that we must help our leader. If the constitution is not passed, the new Parliament will have no authority either. We shall be the laughingstock of the world and a scarecrow at the same time. A huge country without law, without rules but with lots of (political) parties and nuclear weapons. . . .

“I voted for Russia’s Choice because Gaidar, (Finance Minister Boris G.) Fyodorov and others already have invaluable practical experience of running this country. This process should not be interrupted even if there are better economists or politicians in sight. . . . Let these guys finish what they have started.”

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Tatyana V. Kosheva, 20, tax inspector

Voted for constitution and for Democratic Reform Movement

“At the April referendum I voted against Yeltsin. He was very indecisive at the time. And it seemed to me that he wouldn’t be able to steer the country in the right direction. But after the October events, after the storming of the White House, I realized that he is a really firm and tough leader. Only thanks to his firmness and resoluteness was the fascist rebellion crushed and we avoided a civil war. If the new constitution is not approved, I fear there will be violence and tanks in the streets again sometime soon, and it will be much worse and bloodier this time, worse than in Yugoslavia. . . . I voted for the Democratic Reform Movement. I respect and like many of its leaders. And I especially love Oleg Basilashvili (a popular movie actor). . . . I can feel safe with such people in Parliament. They cannot do bad things.”

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Mikhail F. Korolev, 63, construction worker

Voted for constitution and for Vladimir V. Zhirinovsky’s extremist nationalist Liberal Democratic Party

“I voted for Zhirinovsky because he promises a lot. He promises so much to everybody that even if he keeps at least half of the promises that will be more than enough for me, at least. I don’t think the man has the guts to deceive us on all his promises. He must deliver something. The rest of the leaders don’t promise anything. They just keep throwing dirt at each other. I voted for the constitution because, as Zhirinovsky put it, the state and citizens must have some document to organize life in general.”

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Pyotr P. Volkov, 69, retired army colonel

Voted against constitution and for the Communists

“Yeltsin needs this constitution to legalize crime and murder the way it was last October when people were killed with tanks for thinking differently. He wants to legalize his disbanding of the Parliament. He won’t think twice before dissolving this new Parliament too. If they don’t approve of his government, Yeltsin will have the right to sack the legislators. We can’t allow this to happen! . . . In the Soviet Union and under communism we were safe and protected. I had 20,000 rubles in my savings account that I could buy two cars with if I wanted to. But after the Gaidar so-called reforms, I can’t even buy a tire with this 20,000. That is how I and millions of others were robbed--that is, materially. And speaking about public morals--we are being abused in a most shameless way. What kind of law and order is it if gays have their newspapers, if they are on television? I am voting for the Communist Party. Only they have some decency left nowadays.”