{Conservative Russia}[7th February 1990]

[Redbook7:41][19900207:1409]{Conservative Russia}[7th February 1990]

.1409

The news from Moscow* – that Article 6 of the Soviet Constitution, effectively giving the Communist Party a monopoly of power, is being abolished – must be the best yet.**

When, some little while ago, Gorbachev said it wouldn’t, and that street demonstrations such as those that had occurred in the former satellite states would not be tolerated in the USSR, I wondered whether he was relying on the Russians*** to do exactly that, and force his hand against the conservatives in the Party: only to be thwarted, like Peter the Great, by the centuries-old conservatism of the Russian people themselves. The weekend’s instructions by Moscow radio [sic] to march against Article VI [sic] – which were obeyed – rather tend to support this view.

This is no criticism of the Russians: poor things, they’ve never really had the chance.

*[cf [Redbook6:359][19891215:1215b]{Eastern Europe}[12th December 1989]]

**& at the beginning of the year!

***(specifically)

[cf * above, fn ***]

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