Yeltsin aims to purge Soviet past: Guard of honour removed from Lenin Mausoleum in Red Square
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.'THE WORST is over,' declared President Boris Yeltsin last night, two days after the Soviet-era parliament in Moscow surrendered to tanks and only hours after the Lenin Mausoleum in Red Square was without goose-stepping guards for the first time since 1924.
The guard of honour's withdrawal, announced yesterday by Itar-Tass newsagency, underscores the mission Mr Yeltsin outlined in his television address: the sweeping away of all vestiges of the Soviet past. Elections for the lower house of a new legislature, the State Duma, will be, as planned, on 12 December, he said.
It was Mr Yeltsin's second public appearance since Sunday night when he rushed back to the Kremlin by helicopter from his dacha after protesters broke through troops besieging the White House. Television showed him looking stunned as he walked haltingly across a Kremlin courtyard.
Last night, though, he seemed in full control. Not only had he routed his rivals in parliament and closed Pravda and other more exteme opposition papers; he had convinced Valery Zorkin, an old foe who frequently seemed to side with the legislature, to resign as head of Russia's Constitutional Court. Mr Zorkin was declared ill and about to step aside. The court immediately announced it would reconsider verdicts condemning as unconstitutional Mr Yeltsin's September decision to dissolve the Supreme Soviet and the full legislature, the Congress of People's Deputies.
Mr Yeltsin also sacked two regional administrators and closed all district councils in Moscow, most of which sided with his opponents. He urged regional Soviets - or councils - to take the 'honourable and courageous decision' and dissolve themselves, adding that local elections should be held at the same time as the parliamentary poll.
While such a blitzkrieg on all sources of opposition might cause unease among champions of a pluralistic Russia, Mr Yeltsin defended the need for stern measures, although he did announce the end of censorship imposed on all papers on Monday.
There were signs that despite Mr Yeltsin's triumph, all is not normal in the Kremlin. A senior aide, Vice- Prime Minister Sergei Shakhrai, was reported by Interfax newsagency to be on the verge of resigning. Mr Yeltsin made an oblique reference in his speech to some trouble, saying: 'Not everyone had the strength and nerves to withstand the great tension at the most critical moment.'
The President suggested the former Vice-President, Alexander Rutskoi, and the Parliamentary Speaker, Ruslan Khasbulatov, would be judged harshly: 'There will be no leniency towards Communist-fascism in Russia.' The two, who are in Lefortovo prison in Moscow, have hired the lawyers defending the former Communist Party officials accused of treason over the 1991 coup.
The Emergency Medical Assistance Centre yesterday put the fighting's preliminary death toll at 123, with 467 in hospital.
Parliament's secrets, page 8
Letters, page 25
Boris: Right or wrong, page 26
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments