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In the brief period from 1989 to 1991, the democratic movement in Russia was a unified political force battling the communist regime under the auspices of Democratic Russia. It then split into two parts represented on one hand by Democratic Choice of Russia and the Union of Right Forces, or SPS, and on the other by Yabloko.
The main issue in creating a unified democratic party is not how fast it should happen, but what party should serve as its basis. Yabloko is the only democratic organization today that meets the requirements of the law on parties. It criticized the shady privatizations of the 1990s instead of apologizing for them. It is not responsible for creating the oligarch system or for promoting the regime of President Vladimir Putin born of that system.
We have to understand that a third democratic way does not exist in Russia. Nothing of the sort has emerged in the last 15 years. This means democrats will have to pick from what is already there. It doesn't really matter who will lead them. The first thing we need to agree on is where the ship is headed, not who is at the helm.
Of course, we could just cast aside the differences between the two parties' positions. This is what independent State Duma Deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov has suggested, that we unite exclusively in protest against the Putin regime on a general democratic platform. The approach means starting from scratch and using a small party with the proper documents as a basis. But a union of this kind would be doomed to an even shorter life span than Democratic Russia.
The appearance of former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov on the scene signaled the opening of a new political front. Backing him are exiled oligarchs hungry for revenge and those suffering from the Putin regime at home. They have great political potential, as they have an undeniably powerful resource -- money. Yet their negative reputations due to the questionable history of their capital makes them vulnerable. Thus, their political goal of getting six or seven superwealthy people in power has to be even more carefully packaged as a democratic movement. They desperately need a front man from an established party, ideally from a united democratic party.
Though they are united against the Kremlin, democrats are not of one mind about the oligarchs, which is why they failed in the 2003 Duma elections. Parties gave various replies to the question troubling those Russians offended by the redistribution of huge amounts of property to a handful of individuals: "What do we do about the oligarchs?" The party of power threw Mikhail Khodorkovsky in jail, Rodina wanted them to pay, and the Communists stuck to the same line as in 1917. SPS refused to even ask the question, while Yabloko could not explain its idea to voters of compensating the public for losses related to privatization. If democrats can't make their relationship to oligarchs clear, they risk falling into the same trap again.
The temptation to take money from oligarchs is similar to the desire to get support from the Kremlin. Both kinds of "help" lead to a loss of political independence. They discredit both the party and democracy itself. Democrats' true resource is not political might or wads of cash, but civil society, including honest businesspeople. Though not as powerful, it won't disgrace those using it.
Sergei Mitrokhin, deputy chair of Yabloko, contributed this comment to Vedomosti, where it appeared in longer form.
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