Russia's bold left stands up to Kremlin
Eduard Limonov's leftist National Bolshevik Party leads protests and spurs controversy.
from the July 6, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
Limonov's forceful left
Limonov admits to having flirted briefly with right-wing ideas in the early '90s and he attracted notoriety by supporting Serbian nationalists during the civil war in Bosnia.
The NBP today is a "purely leftist" party that calls for taxing the rich to help the poor, fighting racism, and promoting democracy, Limonov says. Although he insists that the party meets all the requirements for registration under Russia's tough political laws, it has been rejected five times by the authorities. "We are the champions in getting banned," says Limonov.
"Nowadays it's illegal to even speak the name of the National Bolshevik Party," under Russia's harsh anti-extremism laws, says Lev Ponomaryov, a leading Russian human rights campaigner. "There is nothing particularly radical about the NBP and they do nothing that's actually extremist, but all opposition forces like this are gradually being weeded out of the political field," by the authorities, he says.
However, some opposition groups, including the liberal Yabloko party, say they've avoided joining the Other Russia in part due to the controversial presence of Limonov's NBP. "The National Bolsheviks stick to their name and fascist flag, and hide their real aims," says Yabloko's deputy chairman, Sergei Mitrokhin. "We don't want to struggle for democracy under nationalist banners. It discredits democracy," he says.
The powerful Communist Party (CP), on the other hand, has refused to join the Other Russia due to what its leader Gennady Zyuganov called the English-speaking and pro-American Kasparov's connections with "foreign moneybags."
Yabloko announced last month that its chairman, Grigory Yavlinsky, will run in the presidential polls, slated for next March. Several other opposition leaders have also declared, including Communist chief Mr. Zyuganov, former Central Bank chief Viktor Gerashchenko, Soviet-era dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, and ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky.
The dream of a single opposition to stand against Putin's heir has been shattered "because the CP and Yabloko have made their own collaborationist pacts with the Kremlin," says Limonov. "We wish they would be more courageous."
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