Painful transition

MOSCOW – Everywhere in the world the transition to democracy is long and difficult. Citizens of stable western democracies often tell me this when I complain about the Philippines’ dysfunctional democracy.

Mikhail Gorbachev, architect of glasnost and perestroika, had a similar message during a luncheon meeting the other day with about 200 editors from around the world near the Kremlin in this city.

The former Soviet leader made another point that would be of interest to Filipinos: in the painful transition period, people with an authoritarian bent often gain the upper hand because democratic leaders cannot impose control on a society in chaos.

Gorbachev endorsed the policies of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been accused by critics of backsliding on democracy. Gorbachev endorsed even Putin’s crackdown on Chechen rebels and defended Russia’s record in promoting press freedom.

"Putin stabilized the country and did a lot to stop its disintegration. This is a fact and people understand that," Gorbachev said through an interpreter. "Whatever you say in Europe and the world, (Russian) people support the president."

But Gorbachev emphasized that returning to totalitarian rule would be bad for his country.

"We will not go back," he said. "Despite difficulties, history is moving on, and we are moving on with history. There is no going back because a new generation (of Russians) has come" and that generation wants freedom.

How much state control is needed before a nation enjoys full freedom is a question many emerging democracies must face.

* * *

Near the end of the 59th World Newspaper Congress and 13th World Editors Forum here last Wednesday, the World Association of Newspapers gave a local journalist several minutes to appeal for help from colleagues around the world amid threats to press freedom in her native Kazakhstan.

Irina Petrushova, chief editor of the independent newspaper Respublika Weekly which has been exposing official corruption, said their government had just passed a law requiring all newspaper companies to deposit $40,000 in a bank "reserve account" before a paper can operate. The "security deposit" is like a bond that will be tapped to pay for damages to people who think they have been "offended" by the newspaper. The amount – a fortune for regional newspapers with low circulation and dismal advertising revenue – will force many Kazakh newspapers to shut down by next year, Petrushova said.

A law that is also expected to be passed soon, she said, will require Kazakh newspapers to seek government approval to hire editors or even transfer editorial offices, she said.

Being a fervent defender of Putin, Gorbachev himself raised eyebrows by announcing during the luncheon that he and billionaire Alexander Lebedev, State Duma deputy, had bought a 49 percent stake in Novaya Gazeta. The independent newspaper has been critical of Putin’s policy in Chechnya and has published investigative reports on government corruption. In July 2003, its journalist who was reporting on corruption died of a severe allergic reaction, triggering suspicions that he had been poisoned.

With Gorbachev and Lebedev infusing an undisclosed amount into Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper will change its format in January and will increase its publication to three times a week from the current two. Its editors insisted that the newspaper would retain its editorial independence and noted that Gorbachev himself had helped launch the paper in 1993, using part of his $715,000 Nobel Peace Prize to buy the paper’s first computers.

Gorbachev said the paper "should express the public opinion of Russia . . . what should be good for society."

He reminded skeptics in the audience that if they compared the current state of the Russian mass media with what it was 20 years ago, "it is Earth and sky." And he reminded the audience that press freedom remained suppressed during the administration of Boris Yeltsin, who succeeded him as the Soviet Union collapsed.

* * *

The free world applauded that collapse, which ended the cold war, but to this day there are Russians who lament the nation’s loss of superpower status and the disintegration of the Soviet Union. A number of them blame their woes on Gorbachev’s policies of openness and reforms, glasnost and perestroika.

Gorbachev defends his legacy and largely blames Yeltsin for gross mismanagement, pointing out that "the country was really disintegrating at the time... but the world was applauding Yeltsin."

As a result of reforms, there was chaos, Gorbachev acknowledged. "It was difficult to move forward democracy and freedom."

"This is painful everywhere and probably even more painful in Russia," he said. "It is not so simple not only in Russia but everywhere in the world."

He did concede some regret. "When the Soviet Union broke up, that was our own fault and nobody else’s... there were a lot of errors and mistakes."

What would he have done differently? His answer was quick: "I would have done many things in a different way. I would have been more decisive. I would not have lost too much time. I thought democracy would deal with Yeltsin; it did not... I had never expected that in 1991 perestroika would come to an end and democratic choice would not turn out to be what we thought it would be... we wanted socialism with a human face, pluralism of opinions, freedom of religion."

* * *

Gorbachev has learned to live with his mistakes and has embraced capitalism, telling his audience who wanted to ask him more questions, "Buy my book."

At 75 he still could not retire, he said, adding he saw 10 more good years ahead for him and another book.

The man with a Harry Potter-type birthmark on his head, who once controlled half of the world’s nuclear arsenal, is charming, with a sense of humor that I find rare in this country of dour people. He was treated like a rock star by many of the foreign editors at the luncheon, who crowded with sheepish looks around him for photographs even as his burly bodyguards tried to elbow everyone out of the way.

His passionate defense of his legacy of reforms and endorsement of Putin appear to enjoy a measure of public support. A local survey showed 59 percent of Russians want to amend their Constitution so Putin, who is finishing his second and final term in 2008, can seek re-election.

Russia is also changing rapidly, generally for the better, according to journalists who have been visiting the country regularly since the Gorbachev era. A Finnish editor who comes here often says there is an improvement in Moscow "every day." The city is clean, the river now features fountains, old sections are being restored, parks are being developed and upscale shopping malls have sprouted. The city comes alive at night, its landmarks with their onion domes brightly lit in the white nights of the Russian summer. The city is a showcase of Russia’s rich cultural and artistic heritage.

Russian rudeness needs some work, and lack of English speakers and English signs even on buses and the subway can limit mobility in this huge city. Taxi fares are a rip-off. If you want speedy processing at airport immigration, you need to fork out $100 for express service. The long lines at the airport upon my arrival last week reminded me of Kabul, and the Afghans almost seem more efficient. Singaporean tourists on my flight, used to efficiency, took the airport chaos good-naturedly for about half an hour, joking in English. I knew they were fuming when they started speaking in Mandarin as a group of burly Caucasian men were hustled past our long line through the immigration counter. Must’ve been the express service at work. Or perhaps they were security oficers. But then this is no longer supposed to be a police state where security officers get VIP treatment.

"We have opened the road to freedom for this country and the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe," Gorbachev told newspaper editors.

Now the country’s focus, he said, is in restoring stability and the glory of Russia on the world stage.

"We want equality in the world arena," Gorbachev said. "Even the smallest country wants sovereignty and respect... we can’t afford to be weak. We should be strong... the process of strengthening the country is going on. The process of transformation is underway."