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CCIP · 04-23-07, 12:23 PM

Haha, sorry for that outburst. I am a bit touchy on the subject admittably.

I can tell you a real story that illustrates my views of Yeltsin:

It was during the 1996 presidential runoffs, where Yeltsin faced off against communist candidate Zyuganov, and things did look quite precariously balanced. In the first round, my parents voted for a candidate from the Yabloko, the main liberal party in Russia - but Yabloko was already in decline then (as it had been ever since, and now, being the last surviving democratic party in the western sense, it too is already in its death throes); we also supported General Lebed (whom I consider the last potential good leader, and whose death I'll never believe was accidental) who placed 3rd in the first round of voting. It's largely thought that thanks to Lebed's agreement of support with Yeltsin, the election didn't go to the communists.

Anyway, there we were at the polling station in my school, with my parents. I was 12 at the time; the security/confidentiality wasn't too high and the attendance was unimpressive. My parents got their ballots and stood there pondering.

In the preceding couple of weeks, my maternal grandparents were agitating us to vote for Zyuganov, to bring back the "good old days". Frankly, Zyuganov was - and is - a much better politician than Yeltsin ever hoped to be. But communist. Yeltsin was as bad as they come. My parents (and I too) entirely lost faith in him in October 1993's famous quashing of the parliament. The Chechen war that he so 'gloriously' conducted convinced them that their kids, both eligible for army service in a few years time, were in danger in the country. Our immigration process to Canada had already started at that point.

So, they gave me their ballots and said this - "well, you vote." - I said "for who?"
They said - "whoever you want. Just remember, if the communists get elected, we won't be able to get out of here. If Yeltsin gets it, then we'll be in Canada in two years".

I thought for a minute and put down two x marks for Yeltzin.
Don't think I've had any faith in democracy ever since.

There you have it :hmm:

04-23-07, 12:23 PM	#8
CCIP Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Waterloo, Canada Posts: 8,700 Downloads: 29 Uploads: 2	Haha, sorry for that outburst. I am a bit touchy on the subject admittably. I can tell you a real story that illustrates my views of Yeltsin: It was during the 1996 presidential runoffs, where Yeltsin faced off against communist candidate Zyuganov, and things did look quite precariously balanced. In the first round, my parents voted for a candidate from the Yabloko, the main liberal party in Russia - but Yabloko was already in decline then (as it had been ever since, and now, being the last surviving democratic party in the western sense, it too is already in its death throes); we also supported General Lebed (whom I consider the last potential good leader, and whose death I'll never believe was accidental) who placed 3rd in the first round of voting. It's largely thought that thanks to Lebed's agreement of support with Yeltsin, the election didn't go to the communists. Anyway, there we were at the polling station in my school, with my parents. I was 12 at the time; the security/confidentiality wasn't too high and the attendance was unimpressive. My parents got their ballots and stood there pondering. In the preceding couple of weeks, my maternal grandparents were agitating us to vote for Zyuganov, to bring back the "good old days". Frankly, Zyuganov was - and is - a much better politician than Yeltsin ever hoped to be. But communist. Yeltsin was as bad as they come. My parents (and I too) entirely lost faith in him in October 1993's famous quashing of the parliament. The Chechen war that he so 'gloriously' conducted convinced them that their kids, both eligible for army service in a few years time, were in danger in the country. Our immigration process to Canada had already started at that point. So, they gave me their ballots and said this - "well, you vote." - I said "for who?" They said - "whoever you want. Just remember, if the communists get elected, we won't be able to get out of here. If Yeltsin gets it, then we'll be in Canada in two years". I thought for a minute and put down two x marks for Yeltzin. Don't think I've had any faith in democracy ever since. There you have it :hmm: __________________ There are only forty people in the world and five of them are hamburgers. -Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart)