TASS

[JEDCJT]

All-Union legislative elections held

 

"The working People have spoken! Soviet democracy prevails!" First Secretary Dmitri Volgin said in a public speech in Leningrad.

 

 

LENINGRAD | TASS |. After months of preparations, along with nominations, conducted by the Central Election Commission, the first legislative elections in the new USSR were held. The reigning Communist Party (CPSU) participated, and so did the Democratic League (DLSU) and the Socialist Alliance (SASU). 

 

Under Soviet law, twenty-five percent of seats (750 out of 3,000) for the upcoming Congress of People's Deputies were to be reserved exclusively for CPSU candidates, which would be nominated by the regional Soviets and their affiliated organizations (trade unions, Komsomol, Women's Committee, Veterans Organization, and the Academy of Art and Sciences). For these reserved seats, voters would be able to choose among multiple CPSU candidates per position.

 

The rest, 2,250 seats in all, would be filled through demokratsiya. Half of these seats would be elected through a proportional system used by the old Soviet of the Union; a deputy would represent approximately 138,000 citizens. The other half would be elected through a equal representation system; each Republic would receive equal number of deputies regardless of population. 

 

The parties would campaign long and hard for the demokratsiya seats. In campaign tours conducted all over the USSR, they would reach out to their respective support bases, raising various issues (taxation, agriculture policy, etc), and above all, appeal to workers. In the end, when the votes were verified and tallied, the CPSU won over 40 percent of the vote (899 out of 2,250 seats), the SASU 37 percent (833 seats), and the DLSU 23 percent (518 seats).

 

The Communists emerged the winner, receiving over 1,649 out of 3,000 seats total. Celebrations were held in major cities across the USSR, even although numerous pundits criticized the reserved-seat system to be "fundamentally unfair" and called for the Congress to discuss that issue.

 

The first session of the Congress of People's Deputies will be held in two month's time, as mandated by law, and its deputies will serve five-year terms. They also will elect the President to a single five-year term, and elect the Supreme Soviet to legislate between Congressional sessions, and will have the power to pass amendments to the Soviet constitution, form the Council of People's Commissars, ratify treaties, approve Soviet decrees, and oversee the judiciary.

[JEDCJT]

Special economic zones created in Russia

 

The Russian government has decided to do an experiment in regards to foreign investment, sources say.

 

MOSCOW | TASS |. The RFSR Commissariat for Economic Development decided to establish several "special economic zones" (SEZs) in the RFSR as to encourage greater foreign investment. The federal prohibition on foreign ownership of Soviet property and resources would remain.

 

There would be four types of SEZs: industrial and production (INPR), technology and innovation (TEIN), tourist and recreation (TORE), and port (POT). 

 

An INPR zone would be established in Tatarstan's Yelabuzhsky District to encourage the region's commerical and industrial development, and the same goes for the entire city of Lipetsk. Parts of Moscow (particularly the Zelenograd district) would be designated a TEIN zone, and so would parts of Tomsk. The port cities of Novorossiysk and Sochi would be designated TORE and POT zones to shore up their flagging tourist industry and develop their logistical capabilities.

 

The Crimean government for its part established a SEZ in Sevastopol to stimulate the city's tourist industry and to attract foreign investment. If this becomes a success, the SEZ could be expanded to the rest of the peninsula. The Kaliningrad government is considering doing the same for tourism.

 

In the SEZs, firms and residents (domestic and foreign) would pay lower income taxes (between 1 and 12 percent instead of the usual 30 percent), be exempt from property and transport taxes for ten years, and qualify for land tax exemptions. Investors would receive assistance from the Soviet government, at Soviet expense, in the form of transport, social, customs, and other infrastructure to encourage business creation and development. They don't have to pay customs duties, would go through a greatly-simplified application process, and would be able to bring highly-qualified staff with minimal bureaucratic hassle.

[JEDCJT]

[TOP-SECRET PUBLICATION - FOR POLITBURO MEMBERS ONLY]

 

Soviet security and intelligence system overhauled

 

Part of the Soviet government has undergone reorganization once more. "It's like we're retrieving the old state security systems from the dustbin of history," Deputy Premier Nikolai Yegev said. 

 

LENINGRAD | TASS |. Remembering the catastrophic effects of the past two wars on the nation's intelligence system, and realizing the necessity of decentralization, the Politburo passed a decree overhauling the NKGB. 

 

Under the "Decree on the Improvement of the Soviet Intelligence Systems", the Main Directorate of State Security (GUGB) was removed from the NKGB and converted into the Committee for State Security (KGB). The reminder of the NKGB was transformed into the Federal Security Bureau (FSB) and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR). The Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) was removed from the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces and made into an independent agency. An All-Union Joint State Intelligence Directorate (OGRU) would be tasked with ensuring coordination between the aforementioned agencies within the new Soviet intelligence community and overseeing joint operations.

 

The SVR would be responsible for collecting and processing intelligence outside the USSR and the GRU doing the same for intelligence relevant to military operations. However, the existence of both the KGB and FSB caused confusion among some Party members; wouldn't they perform pretty much the same things? The answer would be yes and no. The FSB would be responsible for internal and border security, as well intelligence on internal threats, while the KGB would be primarily tasked with counterintelligence and counterterrorism. However, the KGB, in its performance of duties overlapping that of the other agencies, would basically do the "dirty work". It would insulate the USSR from foreign infiltration, contain internal dissent, and proactively protect the country on the external sphere, among others (including but not limited to disseminating disinformation and fostering revolution abroad). 

 

Some Party members thought that the decentralization of the security and intelligence systems were intended to encourage interagency competition and thus increase the Politburo's powers. However, First Secretary Volgin said, such competition would be "fair" and wouldn't come at the expense of efficency. The USSR would not become Nazi Germany in this regard. The decentralized system was reflected in that the KGB would be headquartered in Moscow's Lubyanka, the FSB in Leningrad's Marx and Lenin Fortress, the GRU in Stalingrad's Pavlov House, and the SVR in Kaliningrad. The OGRU would be headquartered in Leningrad as well.

Edited January 28, 2015 by JEDCJT

[JEDCJT]

Surprising developments

 

 
MOSCOW - In its third session, the 500-member Supreme Soviet (which had been elected by the Congress of People's Deputies the previous month) overwhelmingly voted to approve the formation of a Constituent Assembly to draft a 'Constitution of the USSR'. In doing so, the Soviet claimed for itself the right to constitutional initiative instead of the Party's Central Committee, which usually form a nationwide constitutional convention to promulgate a Constitution. What made this surprising was that a majority of members who voted in favor of such a move were Communist Party members themselves.
 
Equally as surprising was the relocation of the Soviet capital from Leningrad to Moscow. "Leningrad may have been the cradle of the Revolution, but it was in Moscow that it was greatly strengthened and consolidated," a Muscovite member said on condition of anonymity on the eve of the vote. Moscow's immense population size, economic power, and cultural influence withstanding, many Party and government members voiced their preference to Moscow over Leningrad, which was very ironic, given that they repeatedly lauded Lenin and his role in the formation of Soviet power in a capitalist world. The Capital Relocation Act, proposed by the SASU and sponsored by many CPSU and DLSU members, was passed by a vote of 348 to 103, with 49 abstentions, and President Vladimir Kosygin signed it into law.
 
While the executive and legislative branches of the Soviet government were preparing to move to Moscow, with the Kremlin being slated for executive occupancy, First Secretary Dmitri Volgin stated in a circular missive that Leningrad would remain the "political capital", that is, the Communist Party would continue to be headquartered there. The same went for the judiciary; both the Prosecutor-General and Supreme People's Court Chairperson voiced their intent to remain in Leningrad. As a sop to the Supreme Soviet, foreign embassies would be given the choice to remain in Leningrad or relocate to Moscow at Soviet expense, and Moscow would be officially acknowledged as the national capital. The Act provided for the formation of an Embassy Circle in Moscow's inner city center, with many buildings there to be renovated and re-opened. 
 
Some pundits have voiced concerns whether all this would set the basis for "dual power" between the executive government in Moscow and the Party apparatus in Leningrad, although both the White House Staff and the Politburo were quick to issue a joint statement allaying such concerns. This is the third time the Soviet capital had been relocated in the past two decades, from Stalingrad to Leningrad and now Moscow.

[JEDCJT]

National Security Council formed

 

 
MOSCOW - President Vladimir Kosygin signed an administrative decree establishing the All-Union National Security Council (NGB) to advise and assist the executive branch of the government on important national security and foreign policies, and coordinate such policies among various government agencies. This was effectively the resurrection of the Gorbachev-era Security Council of the USSR.
 
In essence, the NGB would serve as an executive forum for the President to develop recommendations to implement All-Union policy on national defense, state security, economic and environment security, and natural disaster and emergency management. Chaired by the President, the NGB will consist of the Vice President, Foreign, Defense, Energy, Finance, and Internal Affairs Commissars, OGRU Director, Stavka Chairman, Chief of the General Staff, White House Chief of Staff, and White House Counselor. 
 
The decree placed the Council of People's Commissars under executive purview, and ordered the Premier to serve as a liaison officer between the government and the Party.
 
Many Party members decried this as an attempt by President Kosygin and his "cabal" to establish dual power at best, and to wrest power from the ruling Communist Party at worst. Not a few of them accused the President of "counterrevolutionary intent" and called for his arrest, although First Secretary Volgin quickly put a stop to this by using the principle of democratic centralism to send the offending members to the Central Control Commission as a warning to the rest of the Party.
 
"This move by President Kosygin is nothing more than a commendable effort to improve the Soviet State's capacity to deal with pressing matters pertaining to affairs of state, specifically national security and defense," he said in a speech in front of the Lenin Mausoleum in Leningrad. President Kosygin for his part said that his administration will not "strive to usurp the powers and legitimacy of the Communist Party." If anything, he will continue to work with it to "further and defend the interests of the Revolution and of the working People."

[JEDCJT]

Debate in Constituent Assembly continue to rage

 

MOSCOW - Considerable disagreements in the Constituent Assembly have continued to imperil efforts to draft the USSR's first postwar constitution ever since it was formed. 

 

Two major factions have formed in the Assembly: one favoring a more liberal constitution based on the 1992 amendments to the 1978 RSFSR constitution and one favoring a centralized one based on the 1924 constitution. The sticking point was the 'unilateral' formation of the executive branch of the federal government: the federalists advocated for the retention of the presidential administration while the centrists called for its reversion to the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a move that critics would reduce the head of state to "historical irrelevance". Another point of contention was the role of the local Soviets. Some members dared to suggest that the Soviets "play a more direct role in the formation of policy", a suggestion that some critics took to mean the loss of the Soviet's autonomy. 

 

If there was a point of agreement midst all this mess, it was that each Union Republic would have the right to maintain their own Defense Commissariats -- even although a few pressed for the right of the Republics to participate in international diplomacy under the aegis of the "Soviet national community." More than a few times, both the Party and the White House called for Assembly members to reconcile their differences and to work together for the greater good.

[JEDCJT]

Turkestan dissolved, replaced by several Republics

 

TASHKENT - In a special decree issued by the Politburo, the newly-formed Turkestan Soviet Federated Socialist Republic was abruptly dissolved and its four autonomous republics elevated to Republican status. Certain regions such as Karakalpakstan were given autonomous status within their respective Republics.

 

The official explanation behind this move was that the Uzbek, Tajik, Kyrgyz, and Turkmen regions were already "distinct from each other in terms of history, culture, and tradition" and that keeping them together in an "artificial construction like the [TSFSR]" would have "serious implications for the Soviet Central Asian regions and for the USSR as a whole in the future." 

 

Some Turkestan officials and Central Committee members speculated that it was part of an cynical move by Russian chauvinists in the Politburo to weaken the powers of non-Russian peoples as Turkestan had the second largest population (48 million) in the USSR. Some even questioned whether the Party had the power or even the right to dissolve an entity that was legitimately formed by the local Soviets. People's Commissar for Nationalities Sergei Brezhnev stated that this was part of Soviet national delimitation policy. "Who are we to call ourselves members of the Soviet national community if we allowed certain nationalities to exercise their voice in domestic affairs but denied them to others?"

 

Even so, First Secretary Dmitri Volgin ordered the formation of a special commission to investigate the circumstances behind the sudden dissolution of the Turkestani federation. "Allowing the nationalities to participate in the decision-making processes on all levels is part of the spirit of Soviet democracy, but we must acknowledge that the replacement of the Turkestan federated Soviet republic with several, smaller Republics merits closer examination of what had happened on the ground there."

 

In unrelated news, the Supreme Soviet began considering a bill that would consign the Defense Commissariat to Union-Republican status, effectively allowing the Republics to form and maintain their own military forces. This was supported by federalists but opposed by centrists.

[JEDCJT]

Rift in the Communist Party?

 

LENINGRAD - Over a dozen influential members in the Central Committee banded together to protest First Secretary Dmitri Volgin's recent decision to grant the Ukraine independence.

 

"This move by the Secretary and his cronies can do nothing but weaken Soviet power in the long run," Eduard Limonov thundered in a speech on the Central Committee floor. "The Ukraine has always been an integral part of the Soviet state; without it, there can be very little, if no, basis for Soviet power to rest on." Ukrainian independence, he contended, led to the downfall of the USSR in the first place, and he would be damned if he let history repeat itself.

 

Volgin's supporters fought back, saying that Ukrainian independence actually strengthened the Soviet national community and clearly illustrated for the world to see the commitment of the Soviet Union to democracy. "We are a federation of Soviet republics based upon the sacred concept of Soviet power," Premier Boris Vorshevsky said in a public speech in front of the Lenin Mausoleum. "The people voiced their desire for national self-determination through the Soviets, and who are we to deny them that?" 

 

Limonov countered by accusing Vorshevsky, Volgin, and their supporters of factionalism, and pandemonium broke out on the Central Committee floor. Order was only restored when the First Secretary himself threatened to bring the Party's powerful Control Commission in. A few Politburo members suggested indicting Limonov for violating Party discipline, yet Volgin would have none of it. 

 

"We need not censure Comrade Limonov for his outspoken sentiments regarding the increasingly controversial issue of Ukrainian independence," he said, "Yet, Comrade Limonov knows better than to needlessly unleash his sharp tongue against those who disagree with him, particularly in a way that weakens Party discipline." What's done was done, and there was no need to condemn the decision that the Party collectively adopted as a whole. "We have far more pressing issues than the after-the-fact independence of our comrades in Ukraine."

Edited February 28, 2015 by JEDCJT

[JEDCJT]

Report on the dissolution of Turkestan issued

 

TASHKENT - After over a year of investigation, the cumbersome-named Commission on the Evaluation of the Circumstances Behind the Dissolution of the Turkestan Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (COME-TSFSR) issued a report on the dissolution of the aforementioned Soviet republic.

 

"We were unable to find any evidence that corroborates the statements made by several parties about foul play apparently committed by Party or government officials in respect to Turkestan," commissioner Andrei Gennady said in a press statement in Moscow. "However, the absence of alleged wrongdoing does not obscure the fact that the decision to dissolve the Turkestan federated Soviet republic was made without prior, meaningful discourse with the nationalities through their respective Soviets, and neither do they excuse the involved Party and government officials of such oversight."

 

In other words, the Politburo overstepped its authority in ordering the disbandment of the Turkestan Soviet republic. The Gennady report consequently affirmed, if implicitly, the central role of the local Soviets in the national delimitation process; the Soviets had to be consulted beforehand on anything that affect the structure and status of the Soviet republics.

 

However, the absence of core recommendations for corrective actions effectively legitimized the formation of the Central Asian Soviet republics, and gave ammunition for opponents. "The fact that the [Gennady Report] gave little thought to the course of actions that could be undertaken to redress this wrong...only gives credence to the growing impression that something is not right in all this," an official in the Uzbek Nationalities commissariat said on condition of anonymity.