Is Gorbachev returning to Soviet democracy?

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The Russian Revolution was based on an alliance of the working class and the peasants, who were the vast majority of the Czarist army.

2 SOCIALIST ACTION SUPPLEMENT By FINAMORE When the Soviet Union launched the world's first satellite in 1958, Sputnik entered overnight into the vocabulary of every language. Two new words-glasnost and perestroika-have also rocketed to our attention, but with much more down-toearth objectives.

Soviet economic, political, and social structures are being overhauled and, in some cases, wholly replaced. Communist Party General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev describes his sweeping reform efforts as a "revolution without shooting."

Seeking mass approval for his policies, Gorbachev has dissociated himself from the extreme political repression and forcedmarch economic measures of Josef Stalin's 30-year rule. Gorbachev says he is for "freedom of speech, the press, conscience, assembly, street processions, and demonstrations."

And while there have been significant democratic openings at all levels of society-openings which the Soviet masses are seeking to break wide open Gorbachev is delivering considerably less than he promises.

Less than one year ago the Communist Party (CPSU) newspaper, Pravda, warned against the growth of unofficial political clubs and condemned advocacy of opposition political parties or independent trade unions.

"Their activities sometimes take on a clearly illegal character," the newspaper said in a front-page editorial, referring to newly organized unofficial political clubs. "Without the permission of authorities, they organize demonstrations, even disturbances. They illegally print and disseminate literature hostile to socialism."

In May 1988, the most prominent of the independent magazines, ironically named Glasnost, had its equipment confiscated, its files and manuscripts destroyed, and its editor jailed. There are numerous other examples of Gorbachev complaining that too much freedom to criticize his policies will "introduce confusion into society."

In addition, Vladimir Khlebanov, who in 1977 founded the country's first independent union, the Free Interprofessional Association of Workers (SMOT), has been in psychiatric detention since 1978. All efforts to secure his release, as well as that of the other SMOT co-founders, have been labelled acts "of imperialist destabilization" by the ruling Communist Party.

Back to Lenin?

Despite this poor record, Gorbachev would like the Soviet workers to believe that his proposals for changes in the nation's political structures amount to a return to Lenin. In his address to the May 1988 Central Committee, where he outlined these changes, Gorbachev stated that "the party acted in this very way in Lenin's lifetime and under Lenin's leadership."

But does glasnost really mean the introduction of genuine soviet democracy as conceived by the revolutionary founders of the Soviet state? Hardly.

The heirs of Stalin's political machine are introducing reform measures which, unlike early Bolshevik policies, are exclusively designed to retool their cumbersome and grossly inefficient bureaucracy.

In particular, in order to increase labor productivity, it has become absolutely necessary to relax the iron grip of the centralized bureaucracy over virtually all aspects of the economy. The bureaucracy is being reshuffled, but it's the same old deck of cards. Gavriil Popov, a chief Gorbachev adviser, admits as much when he notes that "the tempo of change will be determined by how fast the apparatus learns new ways to lead."

Among the winners in this new deal of the cards will be factory managers and local economic administrators. The rights of the workers and the factory committees are peripheral to the real purpose of Gorbachev's reforms—which is the strengthening of the role of the managers.

The "State Enterprise Law," enacted Jan. 1, 1988, will invest managers with control over the use of profits for reinvestment or as workers' bonuses. Even the clearly stated right to elect managers is subject to "confirmation by the superior body."

Zhores Medvedev, a leading Soviet dissident, says that Gorbachev is not proposing "self-management ... in any real sense. He talks about self-management in the context of the need to restrict ministerial interference [with decisions of the managers]."

A revival of factory committees with control of production is one of the factors Lenin and Trotsky stressed would result in increased productivity, elimination of waste, and preparation for workers running the government.

But Gorbachev's reforms are not aimed at increasing workers' control of their enterprises. Their goal is to legitimize the power of managers.

Democracy for austerity's sake?

Polish Solidarnose developed in reaction to the same policies which Gorbachev wishes to introduce into the Soviet Union. [See accompanying article on Gorbachev's economic reforms.] Gorbachev has admittedly watched Poland's experience very closely. He has observed the failure of the discredited Polish Communist Party (PUWP) to institute price hikes and other economic "reforms.

Realizing that the Soviet CPSU also lacks the moral authority to successfully impose perestroika's austerity program, Gorbachev has turned elsewhere. He wants workers, peasants, and soldiers.

Since that time, the influence, power, and rights of the soviets and other mass organizations have been completely usurped by the Stalinist Communist Party. None of the glasnost democratic reforms will fundamentally reinvigorate these soviets or mass organizations.

For example, to ensure bureaucratic political dominance of the soviets, no other socialist parties are tolerated. The hundreds of new independent political clubs are also closely monitored and harassed.

Boris Yeltsin's downfall as Moscow CPSU chief occurred after he allowed a wide range of independent socialist clubs to hold a national convention where numerous anti-bureaucratic resolutions were passed, including one resolution favoring a multiparty system.

It is impossible to speak of soviet democracy when dissenters—particularly those seeking to return the Soviet Union back to the path of Lenin and Trotsky-are not allowed full political rights, including the right to form parties.

The glaring absence of soviet democracy can be seen in the recent election of Gorbachev as president of the Supreme Soviet. He was elected in a one-hour session by a vote of 1500 to 0.

Real soviet democracy

The Bolsheviks under Lenin and Trotsky repeatedly emphasized the critical role of mass organizations through which the majority could actively participate in government. Lenin's theses on democracy were adopted by the First Congress of the Communist International in 1919.

This report stated that "genuine democracy ... is possible only ... by enlisting the mass organizations of the working people in constant and unfailing participation in the administration of the state."

For the first time in history, the workers, peasants and soldiers—the overwhelming majority of the population—controlled the government. In fact, the Bolshevik program went further. It called for the workers and peasants to be the government.

"It gives those who were formerly oppressed," Lenin said, "the chance to straighten their backs and, to an ever-increasing degree, to take the whole government of the country, the whole administration of the economy, the whole management of production; into their own hands."

The Bolshevik leaders' broad appreciation for "mass participation" in government has nothing in common with the narrow parameters of glasnost.

Several parties in bitter opposition to the Bolsheviks functioned in the soviets. They ran elections, circulated their press, and organized meetings and demonstrations.

After the revolution, their rights were fully guaranteed by the Bolsheviks. In fact, the Bolsheviks actively solicited the participation of Soviet opposition parties in the government. But only a small left-wing section of the Socialist Revolutionary Party agreed for a brief period to join the goverment.

The other parties took dn against arms (continued on next page)