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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (56341)	9/28/1999 3:54:00 PM
From: jbe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Neocon, I was not "giving Gorbachev credit" for not having democratic accountability. I was only stating what seems to me to be obvious: the fact that he did not have to account to the public was what made it possible for him to make the kind of far-reaching concessions in foreign policy that the public might have, indeed probably would have, opposed. As for Yeltsin's role in bringing down the USSR, let us not forget that there were 14 other republics in the USSR,besides Russia. The Baltic republics and Ukraine, in particular, played an enormous role. Even if there had been no Yeltsin, there is no way in hell that that sorry little bunch of drunken coupsters could have imposed their State of Emergency throughout the whole USSR. (They wouldn't even have had enough tanks to occupy every major city!) Let us also not forget that Yeltsin himself had been a candidate member of the Politburo, and to some extent, IMO, still remains one, psychologically. (He outranked all the "Communists" who are his opponents today.) And in some respects, Russia is less "democratic" today than it was in Gorbachev's time. Gorbachev would NEVER, I am convinced, EVER have shot up his parliament, or encouraged the kind of xenophobia now running rampant throughout Russia (with regard to Chechens and all other so-called "blacks"), etc. When I have a moment (if I ever do), I would be happy to pursue this theme. Joan