LIBERAL REVOLUTION

Moscow, October 30, 1998.

October 30 commemorates traditionally in our country as the Day of Soviet Political Prisoners, day of tribute to those who disappeared for ever in Stalin's Gulag, or - in more "vegetarian" times - has spent years of his life in Perm political camps or usual "criminal" camps scattered on all country. These people in the majority asserted principles and ideas of freedom, at times paying for them with their lifes.

Today freedom in Russia needs again to be defended and asserted. The situation, in which our country is as a result of six-years imitation of liberal reforms, is a consequence of an everyday suffocation of economic freedom - immutable condition of growth of public well-being. Among all economic freedoms in Russia prospered and prospers till now the only one: freedom of the unpunished theft daily committed by corrupt officials - almost inevitable result of any intervention of the state in economic life of society, as world practice shows. And - alas! - this cleptocratic liberticide regime of the state-monopoly "capitalism" during long years has been supported by Western credits.

Our country needs a real liberal revolution. It is necessary to adopt new laws and to cancel old ones, which oppress freedom, corrupt the authority and state, and have all chances to throw Russia back to the Stone Age. We need the laws which would be uniform, simple and obligatory for all without any exceptions. The whole series of radical liberal, libertarian, liberist reforms is necessary.

Here are only some of them.

* Liberalization of bank system

The adoption of amendments in the law on bank activity, giving the equal rights to the domestic and foreign banks is necessary. Only such measure can reanimate dead Russian bank system and give to millions of citizens a chance to return their bank accounts.

* Immediate privatization of ground

It is necessary immediately to adopt the law on land capable to promote, instead of to interfere with realization of the right of land private property guaranteed by the Constitution of Russia.

* Liberal tax reform

The sharp decrease of tax burden both on the citizens, and on the enterprises, simplification of taxation system is necessary. The state should stop suffocating both freedom of manufacture, and freedom of trade.

* Constitutional interdiction of the tariffs and duties

The state should protect freedom of trade and rights of domestic consumers by introduction of the constitutional interdiction on the establishment of the restrictive import tariffs and duties, which lead to fall of qualities and growth of the price for the goods and services made in Russia, to a robbery of consumers.

* Sharp reduction of the state expenses

The country should live according its wealth. Ideally, the state should be engaged only in what the private sector cannot provide - protection of rights and freedom of citizens. The state is a service, and it should not be persuasive. The adoption of an amendment to the Constitution forbidding scarce financing of the budget expenses is necessary.

* Anglo-Saxon majoritarian electoral reform

The today's Russian parliament represents an assembly of different lobbyist consisting composed from deputies, responsible not to the voters, but to thief party-mafia bureaucracies. This partocratic parliament is able to block any liberal legislative initiatives, aimed to defend interests of citizens.

The reform of the electoral legislation providing election 100% of State Duma members and 100% of Council of Federation members in one-mandatory districts in one round is necessary. Such Anglo-Saxon majoritarian one-round electoral system leads to the formation of two-party system existing in the United States - of a system, able to ensure effective and steady government, not paralyzed by constant threat of fall as a result of nonconfidence vote from part of powerful parliamentarian dwarfs.

* Cancellation of draft slavery

It is necessary immediately to cancel draft slavery - a shameful and barbarous atavism, not only roughly breaking rights and freedoms of citizens, but also completely useless in sense of defense and security on a threshold of the Third Millennium. For this purpose the action of the federal law "On conscription and military service" should be suspended, except for rules of the chapter 6 regulating military service on the contract basis. Only such a measure will be capable to result in cardinal reduction of armed forces. The country should have exactly such army, what its citizens can allow to themselves and want to support by their duties.

* Legalization of drugs

It is necessary to put shattering impact on the organized criminality engaged in underground traffic of illicit drugs. It is possible to make, having removed economic interest of narcomafia in super-profits brought by prohibition on drugs. The present prohibitionist system concerning drugs is criminal. It produces only unprecedented growth of narcomafia's power, corruption of state institutes, sliding growth of drug addiction, violation of civil liberties under the pretext of "wars on drugs". As first-step measures it is necessary:

a) to legalize manufacture, sale and use of cannabis and its derivates (hashish, marijuana);

b) to list the criminal and administrative responsibility for personal use of any substances and crimes which have been not connected to selling (a storage, purchase, transportation without the purpose of selling);

c) to adjust on the Swiss example the system of controlled medical prescription of heroin.

For realization of these liberal, libertarian and liberist reforms the adoption of the appropriate laws is necessary. There is no hope, that present (and, perhaps, also the next) State Duma can and wants to adopt the laws necessary not for single lobbies, but for the country and its citizens as a whole.

Hence, the chance of success for reforms in interests of the majority will appear only when and if these political ideas of freedom - clear and attractive to the common citizens - will receive support directly from citizens during national-wide referendums, on which concrete legislative proposals can and should be born. All the democratic, liberal forces - from "Jabloko" up to DVR - should be united to organize campaign for collection of two millions signatures of Russian citizens necessary for assignment of a national-wide referendum.

We need a lot of radical liberation reforms. The country chokes without them. It should be the real Liberal Revolution. The everyday work to change, step by step, our society, to achieve concrete reforms is necessary. We need active participation of all citizens, believing in principles of freedom and social responsibility. We need unity of all democratic, liberal forces of our country.

Only this way can move Russia towards the world civilization. Only this is our chance of free and worthy life.

Nikolaj KHRAMOV

(president of Club Khramov - Association for Libertarian Reforms)