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Page 2
So, we can see you're under pressure to squeeze as many rubles as possible out of the state coffers, so as to pay off the
people you owe, so your reputation won't be damaged (further). Naturally, you might be tempted to say, as you did to
lawmakers, "We are willing to consider any proposal, but we simply cannot fail to repay treasury bills."
And, unlike others, these people vote. And have an annoying habit of protesting loudly when they're let down. Even to the point of going on strike and blocking railways. Even your atomic workers in Sarov (among others, world-renowned Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov's research base) are considering going on strike. Other politicians are noticing. That's why the Impeach Yeltsin movement is actually picking up steam now. People from all parties in the Duma - Communists and the liberal Yabloko, among others - are jumping on this bandwagon. Their first order of business after getting back from summer recess will be to draft a bill of particulars against your boss. They're doing this now because a recent poll had a majority of Russians calling for him to resign even before his term is up. And they're not just speaking as individuals: the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia has called for the same thing, as have the coal miners' unions. Everyone knows he and you and the rest of the Kremlin bunch are all fine gentlemen and ladies. You just can't seem to carry out your obligations to ordinary workers, even the ones who work for you directly. And you all don't seem to give a damn. Kiriyenko: you don't seem to get it. If the IMF will bail you out directly, they'll be more than happy to eat a few losses if you miss or postpone a bond payment here and there. I can assure you they won't vote for Gennady Zyuganov - whether in June 2000 for president then or this fall against your boss being president. They won't block railways and create work and shipping stoppages for large parts of Russia. Most importantly, they will all still know where their next meal is coming from. Unlike a whole lot of state workers and pensioners. Your boss Yeltsin is probably too sick at this stage of the game to be able to absorb this, so I'm laying this on your shoulders. You seem like a decent enough fellow. You had some offices under the Communists, but so did anyone else who's old and skilled enough to make important decisions. And you were in the Komsomol, not the KGB or the Border Guards, so you have pretty clean hands.
The copyright of the article An Open Letter to Premier Sergei Kiriyenko - Page 2 in Russian Politics is owned by . Permission to republish An Open Letter to Premier Sergei Kiriyenko - Page 2 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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