Russian Political Showdown
The Left's Last Stand
-Is the country moving in the right direction? - Putin just grimly ignored the reporters as he got into his car. Of course the country is moving in the right direction, so right that soon there wouldnt be any room to move further to the right.
Elections came and went and brought another blow to the leftist coalition. The left failed to unite and when the moderates backed General Lebed there was no way for the left to win. And with General Lebed there came a new era in Russia, like Putin's era before that, but this time Putin was on the outside. Perhaps he was just feeling jelous that it was no longer him in control of the mighty empire that was Russia, that it wasnt him who stood in the shadows and commanded the government like it has been. He hasnt held the top post in the country for 8 years now, but all through Khodorkovsky's and Naryshkin's administrations he was the one guiding the country. Not anymore.
Was the country moving in the right direction? Who knows, you can't predict the future, and only in the future will we be able to tell what policies were right and what policies werent. But the important thing is - it is not him making those policies and he is going to change that.
He looked at his watch - the Duma session was starting in a few minutes. He smiled and ordered his driver to take him to his dacha outside the city.
Half an hour into the Duma session it was closed. The required number of deputies - 300 - was not reached and so after three attempts to reach quorum the session was disbanded. Not a single liberal deputy showed up to the meeting and the conservatives still lacked the majority necessary to carry on without the liberals present. A new administrative reform and a number of regional governors apointments were left on the tables as the deputies left the building. The nationalists were outraged while the conservative market wing kept quite. They knew that this was the last ditch liberal attempt to hault the nationalistic reforms that have been passed through Duma over the last few months. The liberals would simply not show up, preventing the Duma from doing any of its buisness. Most of the Communists were in the city streets while the social liberals gathered on Putin's dacha, trying desperatly to come up with a plan to stop the Conservative threat.
President Lebed sat in his office when General Sergeyev walked in. A piece of paper was placed in front of the President and he read it over, and then over again.
-Is he insane? What on earth more can he possibly want? We gave him a chance to get away, isnt that the most he can hope for?
The general remained silent, president looked out over the other documents on his table and appeared deep in thought, and indeed he had a lot to think about.
The situation in Indonesia was worsening by the day, Suharto refused to give up, even if guaranteed safety by the Russian government. Germany and the USE apeared ready to defy Russian orders and to move into Indonesia themselves and if they did that....If they did that then they could discover too many things Russia was not willing to let them.
The president wrote down a few notes and gave it to the general who promptly left the room.
As papers piled up in the Duma offices the institution remained shut down. Two more attempts to re-open it were made by the Conservatives by they both failed. The liberals wanted to negotiate on Putin's terms - in his dacha and only with President Lebed. The President remained silent, most likely analyzing the situation and trying to come up with the best answer to this new liberal attack on his presidency. As the nationalist leaders attacked the liberals for stalling government buisness crowds begun gathering in Moscow, one in support of the Liberals next to the Ostankinstaya TV Tower and one backing the Nationalists in the Red Square. Police was put on alert and advisors warned the president that it would be best to meet with Putin.
President Lebed and Colonel Nurgaliev, the current head of the Entente, walked down a very long hall in the Kremlin, the same one where Putin made up his mind a decade and a half ago to disband the Communist Coalition. The conversation was long and the news were not good. The Entente was not behind Russia's actions in Indonesia. They only two powers in the alliance that had any power and would back Russia were Brazil and China, and to get China to do anything was not an easy task. The dragon prefered to lie low and not attract attanetion to itself. German and USE troops outnumbered Russians in the area and the war was not going as well as planned. And on top of all that the German threat in Europe and the liberal neusance in Russia. To a question of weather Russia could keep Indonesia Nurgaliev anwered affirmativly, they could, but it would cost Russia a lot, perhaps even its superpower status. And he told Lebed of a new recent events which positioned Russia in a perfect place to restore its influence in South East Asia even if Indonesia was lost.
At the end of the hall Lebed thanked his friend and smiled.
After the last try to re-open Duma failed everyone expected the President to meet with Putin and to negotiate some kind of compromise. Instead the Atterny General arrived at the Russian Constitutional Court with a packet of papers. He argued that the Constitution protects the rights of the citizens and the Liberals are currently violating some of these rights, and so, even if the Constitution does not provide for the means to fix the situation it has to be fixed, since the rights of the citizens have to be protected. In a surprise ruling which doomed any liberal opposition in the Duma to failure and strengthened the Executive branch even further the Court ruled that if the rights of citizens are violated it is a duty of the President and the Executive Branch to protect them. Citing this ruling later in the day the President ordered the Duma to disband. The Central Election Committee set the date for the next elections in a month. The liberals condemned the rulind and prepared for the next fight - the elections. Until then the President had absolute power in the country.
And he was going to use this absolute power to bring Russia back from the setbacks it has suffered in recent months. The Bear was going to take back what is his.