USSR 1987-1991: Marxist Perspectives

560 Pages·1993·37.264 MB·English

by  Marilyn Vogt-Downey

The USSR 1987-1991:
Marxist Perspectives
REVOLLiIONARY STlJDIES
Series Editor: PAUL LE BLA,1'\iC
Socialism from Below
Hal Draper
Essan Selected, Edited. and with an Introduction
· b_y E. Haberkern
World Revolution 1917-1936
The Rise and Fall of the Communist International
C. L. R. James
Marxism in Latin America from 1909 to
the Present: An Anthology
Lou,·
Edited by Michael
On Changing the "'o rld
Essays in Political Philosophy,
from Karl Marx to Walter Benjamin
,\Jichael Lowy
Revolutionan· '1arxism and Social
Reality in· the 20th Centurv:
Collected· Essa.vs of Ernest M~del
Ernest Mandel
C. L. R. James and Revolutionary "1arxism:
Selected \\"ritings 1939-1949
Edited by Scott McLemee and Paul le Blanc
The Marxists and the Jewish Question:
The Historv of a Debate ( 18➔3-19➔~~)
· Enz.o Trm•erso
The USSR 1987-1991:
Marxist Perspectives
Edited by Man'{rn Vogt-Downey
The Responsibility of Intellectuals: Selected Essays
on Marxist Traditions in Cultural Commitment
Alan M. Wald
The USSR 1987-1991:
Marxist Perspectives
Edited by
MARILYN VOGT-DOWNEY
HUMANITIES PRESS
New Jersey
First published in 1993 by
Humanities Press International, Inc.,
Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey 07716
© 1993 by Marilyn Vogt-Downey
Library of Congreu Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The USSR 1987-1991 :Marxist perspectives / edited by Marilyn Vogt
-Downey.
p. cm. - (Revolutionary studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-391-03772-2
1. Soviet Union-Politics and govemment-1985-1991.
2. Communism-Soviet Union. 3. Trotsky, Leon, 1879-1940.
4. Socialism-Soviet Union. I. Vogt-Downey, Marilyn, 1943-
11. Series.
DK288.U86 1993
320.947--dc20 92-17792
CIP
A catalog record for this book is av.tilable from the British Library
Map on page xiii, drawn by Vincent Kotschar, from Brinton/
Christopher/Wolff. A History of Civilization: 1815 to tht Prtstnt,
4c, © 1971, p. 1120. Reprinted by permission of Prentice HaU,
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
without written permission from the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Acknowledgments lX
Abbreviations XI
Maps Xlll
Introduction 1
PART I. PERESTROIKA, GLASNOST, AND THE WORKERS
Introduction 11
1 Economic Reform and Democratization 13
2 \Vhat's in It for the Workers? 23
3 Political Crisis at the Top 33
4.. Miners' Strike Opens New Act in Perestroika 39
;J Soviet Elections-Rumblings below the
Surface 57
6 Workers of the USSR-Unite! 68
.
7 Gorbachev Forced to Retreat on Economic
Plans: Soviet Masses Intervene 79
8 The Capitalist Market and the Workers'
State: Assessing the Reforms in Eastern
Europe and the USSR 91
9
Soviet Communist Party Congress Registers
Dramatic Changes 107
10 From Perestroika to Perestrelka? 119
11
The Soviet Economy: Difficult Birth of a
Workers' Movement 123
12 H\\'e Must Decide Wnat Is Rational": An
Interview with the Soviet Miners' Leader 135
13 Who Will Save Russia from Yeltsin? 147
14 Deepening Economic Crisis in the USSR 151
V
VI CONTE~TS
PART II. REBELLION OF THE NON-RUSSIAl\S
Introduction 165
15 National Struggle and Political Revolution
in Armenia and Azerbaijan (Part 1) 166
16 National Struggle and Political Revolution
in Armenia and Azerbaijan (P art 2) 181
17 ""We Need an Ideology" 194
18 The Politics of Baltic Independence 199
19 Gorbachev Threatens Military Crackdown 209
20 Looking Down the Chilean Road 216
21 Ukrainian Movement Faces Historic Tasks 220
22 Mass National Movement Launched in Ukraine 224
23 First Congress of the Popular Movement
for the Reconstruction of Ukraine 229
24 For the Independence of Soviet Ukraine 235
25 The Lviv Strike Committee-The Role of
Workers in the Ukrainian National
Movement 256
26 Ukrainian Solidarity with Lithuania: An
Interview with an RUKH Leader 262
PART III. HISTORY IS KNOCKING AT THE DOOR
Introduction 265
27 The Causes and Consequences of Bukharin's
Rehabilitation 267
28 The Train of History 271
29 Glasnost Changes Trotsky's Image from ··:Mad
Dog'' to Tragic "'Demon"! 274
30 Soviet Press Agency Does a Turnaround on
..
27'7
Trotskyism
31 Current Events in the Soviet Union 280
32 Trotsky's Voice Heard Again in the USSR 288
33 Trotskv: On the Road to the Truth about Him
.,
An Interview with Professor V. I. Billik 299
34 ""Afterword" to the Soviet Edition of Leon
Trotsky's The Stalin School of Falsification 309
..
Contents vu
35 The New School of Falsification 317
PART IV. POLITICS AND THE PEOPLE
Introduction 331
36 Conversations in the USSR: Diary of a Trip
(Part 1) 332
37 Conversations in the USSR: Diary of a Trip
(Part 2) 345
38 Conversations in the USSR: Diary of a Trip
(Part 3) 355
39 ""Nobody Sees Perestroika from a Woman's
Point of View'': An Interview with Olga A.
Voronina of the USSR Academy of Sciences 365
40 A Visit to the USSR 373
41 ""Our Program Is Self-Management and Self-
Government": An Interview with a Leader
of the Movement for a New Socialist Party
in Russia 385
➔2 •• Problems Facing Workers in the USSR
Today": An Interview with Soviet Trade
Union Activists 393
➔3 The Af tennath of Chernobyl: Four Years
after the Nuclear Disaster in Ukraine 407
44 Shades of Green: An Interview with a Soviet
Ecology Activist 419
45 Potential for a Conscious, Working-Class
Revolutionary Movement in the USSR 425
46 Discussion by Soviet Revolutionaries 438
➔7 Introduction to the Trade Union
""Independence" 444
48 Self-Management versus Nomenklatura
Capitalism: An Interview with
Alexander Buzgalin 452
49 Declaration from Soviet Revolutionists:
Revolutionary Proletarian Cells 462
50 Direct Action and Left Unity: An Interview
with a Soviet Anarchist 467
Vlll CONTENTS
51 Perestroika and the Arms Race 471
52 Latin American Communist Parties: The
Impact of Perestroika 478
PART V. A NEW STAGE OPENS
Introduction 485
53 Understanding the Soviet Coup 486
54 Boris Kagarlitsky Explains the Moscow Coup 492
55 Yeltsin Extends His Power 496
56 A View from the Soviet Left 502
57 Moscow Appeal for a Party of Labor 505
58 Soviet Trade Unions Back Party of Labor 507
59 We Are Not Conspirators" 510
4'
60 Since the Coup in the USSR 513
Contn'butors 523
525
Index
Acknowledgments
It is impossible to name everyone who has in some way contributed to
making this book possible. Among the many who stand out are Frank and
Sarah Lovell, veteran American Trotskyists whose decades of work toward
building the needed revolutionary Marxist and workers' movement in this
country have so inspired me and many in my generation to follow their
ex.ample--they have always been there to encourage me to pursue my work
devoted to the Left Opposition and related developments in the former
USSR; Morris Lewit, a founder of the Trotskyist movement in the United
States in the 1920s, who, with his vast experience and knowledge, continues
to serve the revolutionary movement both here and abroad, and who has
done so much to encourage and support me in making contacts with new
forces moving into public life in the former Soviet Union since the glasnost
period; George (Saunders) Shriver, who first got me involved in translating
Leon Trotsky's writings and samizdat documents from the USSR in the
early 1970s, and who has been a model to me because of his meticulous
standards of work; Gerry Foley, whose vast linguistic skills and understand
ing and promotion of Lenin's position on the nationalities question have
endowed him with singular importance in the world Marxist movement
today, and who has consistently enlightened and motivated me in this
regard; Paul Le Blanc, the editor of this series, who first developed the idea
of this collection, and who was always available to assist me when dilem
mas arose; the Humanities Press staff, Rebecca Hogancamp (my copy
editor) and especially Cindy Kaufman-Nixon (my production editor), who
never lost patience with me and whose knowledge and experience turned
my rough, complicated manuscript into an attractive volume; and, finally,
Keith Ashfield, the president of Humanities Press, who barely flinched
when I turned in some 1,350 pages of manuscript and tactfully assisted me
in honing it down to a portable size, and whose warm and approachable
manner and interest in my area of study made it possible for this volume to
appear.
Special thanks as well should go to Colin Meade of International Viewpoint
and Randal Hepner and Steve Bloom of Bulletin in Defense of Marxism for
their absolutely indispensable technical assistance in preparing the manuscript.
I must also express special gratitude to Bill Koehnlein of the New York
Marxist School, a professional indexer, who helped me by compiling the
entire and marvelous index for this volume, and whose expertise and
diligence have added immeasurably to the value of this book.
X ACK~O\l'LEDG'.\tE:\TS
Finally, I must express my undying gratitude to Viola Goembel, my
mother, who first encouraged me to undertake the study of Russian in
1% 2-thereby forever transforming my life-and whose advice helped me
make this book my own; Erika Vogt, my daughter, who probably sac
rificed the most to make this book possible; and to Nicholas Downey, my
husband, without whose limitless patience, encouragement, and support
the work on this book would never have been completed.
This collection contains articles from the following publications, all of
whom have graciously granted permission to reprint here. A notation on
the title page of each article indicates the issue of the journal and the date of
the issue in which the article appeared.
Bulletin in Defense of Marxism, P.O. Box 1317, New York, N.Y. 10009.
BIDOM describes itself as "a journal dedicated to the process of
clarifying the program and theory of revolutionary Marxism---of dis
cussing its application to the class struggle both internationally and in
the United States." It is published monthly by the Fourth International
ist Tendency.
International Marxist Review, 2 rue Richard Lenoir, 93108, Montreuil,
France. IMR is published twice a year under the auspices of the United
Secretariat of the Fourth International.
International Viewpoint, 2 rue Richard Lenoir, 93108, Montreuil, France. IV
describes itself as "a fortnightly review of news and analysis published
under the auspices of the United Secretariat of the Fourth International."
Marxist Monthly, SA Priory Road, London NS 7EX. MM describes itself as
the "theoretical journal of the Marxist Party of the British Section of
the International Committee of the Fourth International."
Novaya gazyeta, Ploshchad Proletarskoy Diktatury 6, Leningrad (previous
address). NG was the weekly newspaper of a reform current inside the
Young Communist League (Komsomol) until the Komsomol dis
solved in September 1991. It has since continued as an independent
publication.
Socialist Organizer, P.O. Box 823, London SE15, England 4NA. SO is a
weekly newspaper.