‘Russian Hamas’

In late June, a new movement appeared on the Russian political scene - the Russian People's Liberation Movement (PPLM, or just ‘The People'). Already at its founding conference, it put forward its own presidential candidate: Sergei Gulyayev, a leader of Another Russia's St. Petersburg organization and former deputy of the city legislature. In his words, PPLM is "a democratic movement in defense of social, economic and political freedoms, and against the Kremlin's policy."

The People's main distinguishing feature, which sets it apart from the numerous opposition groups within Another Russia, is an "element of healthy nationalism," since "the national issue must not be ceded to the Kremlin." Says Gulyayev: "All liberal movements, unfortunately, shy away from the concept of ‘nationalism.' We want people to enunciate the word ‘Russian' without looking over their shoulder. We are convinced that it is necessary to rehabilitate the concept of ‘great nation.' The Russian national idea, as key to our movement, should unite 80 percent of the Russian population."

It is noteworthy that Gulyayev, a former co-author, with Aleksandr Nevzorov, of 600 Seconds [an in-your-face anti-Kremlin 10 minute TV show that scandalized the government. - Ed.], became a member of the St. Petersburg Legislative Assembly with support from the Union of Rightist Forces (SPS), but quickly switched to the liberal Yabloko party, and then became involved with nationalist groups. Gulyayev became one of the most formidable opponents to [St. Petersburg Governor] Valentina Matviyenko, "asking for it" at unauthorized wildcat public rallies where he was hit on the head by riot police more than once.

Gulyayev will be assisted on his mission by the other two co-chairmen of the new movement: Aleksei Navalny, deputy head of the Yabloko Moscow organization; Zakhar Prilepin, a well-known writer and member of the [outlawed] National Bolshevik Party; and Pyotr Miloserdov, head of the Information and Electoral Technology Department at the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party.

Navalny, who has now quit Yabloko, urged all democrats to overcome their "birth trauma" and shed their fear of nationalist ideas. In his words, nationalists in Russia today are millions of normal people, while the national-democratic movement should become Russia's "mainstream democratic movement." While in Yabloko, he publicly brought the ethnic [Chechen] origin of Deputy Chief of the Presidential Staff Vladislav Surkov against him, referring to him as "Aslanbek Dudayev." When two ethnic Russian men were killed in the Stavropol Territory, he suggested that "officials must be prohibited from treating [these] killings other than as ethnically motivated hate crimes, or face dismissal."

Miloserdov formulated his position with respect to The People even more bluntly: "We are a Russian Hamas." Ironically, according to Vladimir Pribylovsky, director of the Panorama think tank, his real family name is Bakshi. Being an ethnic Karaim (the son of Kim Bakshi, an expert on the Caucasus) he adopted his mother's surname. It is also worth noting that in 2002 to 2003, Miloserdov teamed up with Marat Gelman, a prominent spin doctor working for the Social Development Party of Ukraine (in Kiev) and then for the SPS and Motherland (Rodina), both at the same time. But two years later, he ran for the Moscow city legislature on a Communist Party ticket. According to Pribylovsky, he is the author of the "Moscow for Muscovites" slogan which created such an uproar. Last year, Miloserdov took part in the nationalist Rightist March. Soon after that, a plenary session of the Communist Youth Union regional organization voted unanimously to expel him from the CYU and the CPRF. But Gennady Zyuganov personally interceded on Miloserdov's behalf. According to Boris Kagarlitsky, Miloserdov was working on a common ideological position for the CPRF and the National Movement against Illegal Immigration (DPNI).

Stanislav Belkovsky, president of the Institute of National Strategic Studies, makes no secret of his role in creating The People. He has for years been involved with the "patriotic opposition," for instance, helping develop policy documents for Dmitry Rogozin's Motherland: Congress of Russian Communities movement. According to the "political technologist," nationalism "with a democratic face" is in great demand in Russian society, but until now there has not been such an organization on the political field, and "since it is clear that the movement will not be officially registered, it will become a factor in informal pressure on the Kremlin and the political situation as a whole." Belkovsky described Gulyayev as "a promising politician, ready to fight the OMON riot police, something that other opposition members are incapable of doing."

© Moscow News Weekly