Moscow Times
July 13, 2005
Editorial
The Risk of Eliminating All Opponents
Irregularities in privatizing a state dacha is perhaps the most frequent of all accusations made against government officials past and present in post-communist Russia.
And now federal prosecutors are adding former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov to the list by investigating his acquisition of the elite country home he had been assigned while in office.
They opened the case at the request of State Duma Deputy Alexander Khinstein, who accused Kasyanov of buying the home through a rigged auction at a knockdown price. The investigation is being seen as a warning to Kasyanov not to pursue his political ambitions, and it is unclear whether prosecutors will actually press charges.
We have already seen, however, how other investigations of this kind have been used to silence outspoken officials, such as former Saratov region Governor Dmitry Ayatskov, who decided not to seek another term after local prosecutors opened an inquiry into the privatization of a lavish estate.
Kasyanov, though, is more of a fighter and less likely to abandon his plans either to lead or to help rally a liberal opposition ahead of the 2008 presidential elections.
The authorities' campaign against Kasyanov appears to be another case of selective prosecution for political reasons and part of a wider campaign to suppress all potential opposition.
Garry Kasparov, the chess champion turned liberal politician, had a campaign swing through the North Caucasus last month thwarted at every turn. Also last month, the National Bolshevik Party, which has been steadily gaining support among the young, was ordered to disband, and 39 of its activists are on trial for seizing a public reception office of the presidential administration in protest.
If pursued, the campaign against Kasyanov could easily backfire. The former prime minister could see his popularity increase, given Russians' traditional tendency to feel sympathy for those persecuted by the state machine.
And if put on trial, Kasyanov could fight back by airing some of the dirty laundry he must have come across during his four years of serving the incumbent president.
The case against Kasyanov was announced while he was out of the country on vacation, raising the question of whether once again the message being sent is that those who refuse to bow to the Kremlin should either stay abroad or expect prosecution upon their return.
The suppression of dissent and prosecution of political opponents could remove the threat to the incumbent and an heir apparent, but only if applied on a national scale and with the brutality of a Stalinist regime.
Otherwise, there will always be dissent and rivalry in politics. Better to allow a safety valve for the expression of opposition than risk an orange-style revolution or a palace coup.