#17 | September 11 - 24, 1997  

by Mark Ames

A week and a half ago, a group of Russian students sneaked into the upper balcony of the Bolshoi Theater and rained anti-Yeltsin leaflets down on the audience. They were signed by the youth political movement "Gamayun," named after a mythical Russian bird whose symbolism is roughly equivalent to the phoenix. The group's politics has been described as "Leftist-nationalism." Such an oxymoron only makes sense when describing an anti-colonialist movement, like the Viet Cong or the IRA. What is interesting about Gamayun's politics is that it seems to view the Yeltsin regime as if it was an occupation regime, a regime that they completely reject.

Today, Russia's students and young elite are in complete political catatonia. The image of the Russian opposition that we have thus far been shown is invariably some gum-diseased pensioner clutching a portrait of Stalin, part of a crowd that is always described as "much smaller than expected" and "elderly." They are physically the ugliest, least sexually active opposition movement in the world-which means, they don't stand a chance.

Gamayun's provocation at the Bolshoi wasn't explosive, but it was unique. This is not their first act-they have picketed banks, mass-faxed press bureaus and worked to have Russia's leaders put on trial.

Russian students have protested here, particularly the draft and low stipends. But those protests were tame and came to nothing. There was no response, and that led to despondency. The Yeltsin government is unique in that it ignores its population more than perhaps any regime on earth-classic authoritarian regimes included, who at least acknowledge dissent with force, a reaction which is always as potentially destabilizing as it stabilizing. The Russian form of state nihilism is simply to ignore the population. When scandals arise implicating deputy prime ministers in criminal activities, the guilty don't even bother denying it. They simply ignore it. And why not? If, while counting my millions, I looked out the window and saw "the opposition," I too would snicker, light my cigar, and keep counting the bills.

Earlier this year, a couple of students, as well as a young editor, were arrested in connection with the threatened bombing of the Peter the Great monstrosity and the successful demolition of a Nicholas II statue. And now Gamayun. That makes two different underground student/youth organizations going after the Yeltsin government this year. Is this the beginning of a trend? Will one of the most unpopular, distrusted regimes on earth finally trigger a student protest movement? I'd doubt it.

The youth in Russia is apolitical because their energies are focused on where they believe there is still hope: namely, in making a quick buck, and blowing it on a good time.

Gamayun is trying to fight this despondency. According to reports I've read, even their enemies seem to admire them. A senior official who was present at the Bolshoi concert told NTV that he was impressed with "their high degree of literacy and their command of the Internet." Officials in Pskov, where the Gamayun are said to be headquartered, have also praised their rhetorical skills and legal prowess. The movement has already built up thick "legal cases" against Russia's leaders, which a Pskov MVD official described as "juridically literate" and almost "faultless from the point of view of the Russian Criminal Code."

By sapping the youth of political hope and coapting them towards a wire-thin road to riches, Yeltsin's government has successfully protected itself from one of the two most dangerous forces that any unpopular regime faces-students and the army. We know how he has crippled the latter.

Yeltsin's government-the oligarchy, whatever you call it-is so full of over-the-top scandal and corruption that it is barely real. The monster is far larger, far harder to pin down, and far more subtle than the Communist monster, precisely because it is less overtly brutal. It hides rather than attacks. Its bizarre, grotesque emptiness weakens any intelligent foe: it is like battling oblivion.

Perhaps the Gamayun sees this, and so they are trying to remain as thorough and rigorous as possible, to keep the enemy defined and clear. Their manifesto from August 23rd sets out its total opposition to the current regime, and claims to be "compiling lists of people who must be brought to justice for war crimes, for the embezzlement of public funds, and for bribe-taking..." Nearly everyone, from politicians to bankers to celebrities and mandarin-intellectuals are indicted. But the most interesting part, and perhaps the very reason why almost no Western news organization will report the Gamayun, is this: "The organization considers it imperative to expose [...] Western media correspondents accredited in Moscow-who, on behalf of their nations, force their opinions about who should be the President of Russia and how to reform the economy." They have separately warned and begged local news bureaus to stop publishing fluff pieces on Russia. In other words, this young, "highly intelligent" opposition group sees the Michael Specters and Carol J. Williams's as among its chief oppressors!

The Western press has responded with a Chubais-like shrug of the shoulder, with tried and true oblivion.

We called several Western news bureaus to ask them if they felt that Gamayun was "newsworthy." Many, such as the New York Times, the LA Times, and Newsweek admitted to having received faxes from Gamayun and hearing about their activities, but, as the New York Times told us, "We just threw their stuff away." The press cannot imagine that it might be an tool of oppression. So it ignores the accusation. After all, ignoring works.

I've sent emails to Gamayun to learn more about them, but I haven't heard anything back. Perhaps the FSB has already caught up with them. They do deserve to be heard; they are newsworthy. I think the problem is that it's confusing-for Western readers. They wouldn't know how to make sense of a group of young idealists committed to overthrowing the very regime whose successes local bureaus have been touting for years now. Such an inversion wouldn't compute. Youth trying to overthrow the "young reformers"? Wait a minute, weren't the "young reformers" fighting "old communists"?! This new equation would require a lot of work and re-thinking the disgusting 90s Francis Fukayama "liberal" paradigm that most have unconciously accepted. These days, no one has time for extra work. Not unless someone forces them to make the time.