BBC- London - 10/07/1998
Governer and presidential hopeful Alexandr Lebed led the protest in Krasnoyarsk
Thousands of workers across Russia have downed tools to protest against unpaid wages and to call for the resignation of President
Boris Yeltsin.
Opposition leaders said the the demonstrations would be the biggest since the collapse of communism.
But indications are that the first protests, in the eastern and central parts of the country, drew only a fraction of the support that had
been predicted.
In the central region of Krasnoyarsk, the protest was led by regional governor Alexandr Lebed, who is known to be planning a bid for
the presidency in 2000.
Many of the protesters following Mr Lebed carried posters calling for President Yeltsin's resignation. Asked whether he shared this
sentiment, Mr Lebed responded: "Power is obliged to serve people, and if it does not cope with this task, it should resign."
The wave of protest has been moving across the Russian time zones, beginning in the Kurile Islands, near Japan.
The giant port of Vladivostok saw the Russian mainland's first protests, with thousands of people waving red communist banners.
The protests were due to begin in Moscow at 1400 local time (1000 GMT).
The Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov has estimated 40 million Russians will join the protests.
But BBC Moscow correspondent Alan Little says the first protests numbered in the tens of thousands or possibly hundreds of
thousands - not in the millions.
Don't rock the boat
The new Russian Prime Minister, Yevgeny Primakov, called for discipline from the demonstrators in an eve of rally television speech.
In his first address to the nation, he said he understood the reasons for the protest but urged people not to create trouble.
"I understand that many of those who are going to demonstrate tomorrow (Wednesday) have grounds for dissatisfaction. But I want
to urge everyone, don't rock the boat we're all in - the sea today is too stormy," Mr Primakov said.
The protests have been called by the Communist-led opposition and trades unions demanding back payment of salaries and
pensions.
Food pledge
Mr Primakov pledged to repay pension and wages due "to the last kopeck" and start paying current salaries in full and on time. But
he made it clear the government so far had no comprehensive programme for battling the crisis.
He also said Russians would be "fully provided" with food in the face of the economic crisis.
"August's collapse of the rouble resulted in a major drop in food imports, which amounted to almost half of the products on the
market in recent years," he said.
"The government is negotiating with Ukraine and Belarus for payment of part of their debts with food. Such an agreement has been
achieved," the prime minister added.
"However, we do not plan to stop buying food from abroad." |
