Chris Doss The Russia Journal ------------------
This article was published in The Russia Journal ISSUE No.33 (33), DATE: 1999-10-11
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- RJ street Poll What has the White House shelling of OctOBER 1993 meant for Russia?
TRJ Father Nikon, priest
I think it was a crime, an awful and cynical crime. It laid the foundation for all the crimes in the years to come that we've witnessed in our country. That the principal law of the country was trampled on gave a green light to all the violations that followed. After that, no one raised an eyebrow at the infamous half-a-million dollars taken out of the Kremlin in a Xerox box.... No one is surprised at the outcome of the conflict with Chechnya today. All this became possible because back then, for the first time, the constitution was so cynically trampled in the mud.
Alexander Fyodorov, architect
It was a people's revolt. The people rebelled and showed that there's plenty of heroism in our ranks despite the fact that they are being turned into cattle. But it also showed that the people lack worthy leaders. That's why this uprising was defeated, because their leaders turned into their betrayers. That's why it all finished so tragically. Otherwise, we would have lived differently from how we live today, without a war in Chechnya, unemployment, poverty, etc. The past six years and all the horrors of today are a result of what was the shooting of lawful power in 1993.
Ivan Yermakov, student
I think that Oct. 4, 1993, was the date of a state coup that allowed the enemies of Russia to rob and destroy the country unpunished. If there hadn't been shooting at the parliament, we would've had a different Russia - one of the most powerful states in the world, whose interests would not be ignored by the rest of the world community as they are now. Sovereign countries like Iraq and Yugoslavia would not have been attacked. The outcome of that day undoubtedly bears direct relation to this mess we live in today.
Olga Yakusheva, State Duma deputy aide
If people had risen then to protect the Supreme Council, we wouldn't have this horror today. It all depended on the Muscovites, but they didn't come out, thus betraying the rest of the country. We wouldn't have had those apartment blasts, the country falling apart into tiny states, the war in Chechnya, bloodshed. Instead, people who really cared for the country and its future laid down their lives. They couldn't believe until the last moment that the guns pointed at them would actually fire.
Valentina Terentyeva, engineer
What is most tragic about those events is that all those victims were killed in vain. It was a real feat on their part to go under shelling in a time of peace. But until now, most of the population hasn't appreciated their effort. They don't care; they have forgotten. When I was there, I wanted to bow before them in respect. But not many felt the same, unfortunately. People didn't come out, even after the first blood had been shed. Nothing stirred within them. Apathy has overwhelmed the nation.
Yulia Vorochek, postgraduate student
If it hadn't been for the demonstration with red flags today, I wouldn't have remembered about it at all. In 1993, I only looked at it from afar, well aware that no matter what my words or actions, nothing would be changed. It's all about the game of politics. ... The only thing that I strongly disapprove of was shooting at the parliament. I'm sure it could have been resolved through negotiation. Then - even if people disapproved of those in the White House - after the shooting they gained support.