Putin Brings Back Soviet Red Star
Tue Nov 26,12:21 PM ET
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) agreed Tuesday to reinstate the Soviet-era red star as the Russian military's official emblem — in the latest reincarnation of Communist symbols that has sparked fears of a return to the repressive past.
The proposal came from Defense Minister Sergei
Ivanov, who spoke Tuesday at a meeting of Russia's top generals attended by Putin.
"The star is sacred for all servicemen," Ivanov said in remarks broadcast on Russian television as Putin sat behind him, frowning his brow. "Our fathers and grandfathers went to battle with the star."
Putin quickly endorsed Ivanov's appeal, and then voiced hope that the speakers of both houses of the Russian parliament would succeed in "convincing" lawmakers to approve the corresponding legislation.
The proposed resurrection of the red star is expected to be popular with the conservative military and appeared to be an attempt by the Kremlin to reinforce servicemen's loyalty. But Putin's critics said it also sent a powerful signal to the rest of the country.
"It's very serious because it doesn't just feed old people's nostalgia, but also affects the youth who don't understand the fascist or communist ideologies but are eager to grasp their symbols," Sergei Grigoryants, a Soviet-era dissident and strong critic of the government, said in a telephone interview.
On Putin's initiative, the Russian parliament earlier resurrected the music of the old Soviet anthem, albeit with a new words, and brought back the Soviet- era red banner as the military's flag. At the same time, it also endorsed the czarist-era white-red-and-blue flag that Russia has been using since the 1991 Soviet demise and the old imperial emblem of a double-headed eagle.
Putin has shrugged off criticism from liberals, who voiced fears that the return of the Communist symbols could herald the comeback of the Soviet- style authoritarian regime. He countered that the use of Soviet-era symbols should help mend deep rifts in society by acknowledging the achievements of the Soviet past that older generations cherish.
Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a Soviet-era dissident who heads the Moscow Helsinki Group, a leading human rights organization, said that Putin has turned to old symbols in a bid to strengthen his support base.
"No one is left out: Communists get their anthem, the conservatives have a double-headed eagle and democrats their tricolor flag," she said. "It makes one wonder what kind of national ideology such a state has."
Some observers interpreted the call for resurrecting the red star as an indication that the Kremlin had abandoned its push for radical military reform. The Kremlin had championed the creation of a leaner, professional military instead of the balky Soviet-style armed forces intended to confront the west.
"It may look like a trifle, but it gives an important signal to both the top brass and the civilian bureaucracy that the Soviet military machine will remain," said Pavel Felgenhauer, an independent military analyst.
The Kremlin's plans to abandon the unpopular draft and switch to an all- volunteer force have met stiff resistance from the top military brass who said that the move would be too costly. In the ranks, there is smoldering discontent over wages which remain miserable at the equivalent of just over US$100 a month for a junior officer despite a recent increase.
The proposed restoration of the star is expected to easily pass through the parliament, which is dominated by pro-government centrists, who obediently follow the Kremlin's wishes.
The five-point star has been the symbol of the Red Army since it was established in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik revolution. Along with the hammer-and-sickle, it also appeared in the corner of the Soviet red flag.
Putin's attitude about Soviet-era symbols is in sharp contrast with the policy of his predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, who loathed the Communist symbols and staunchly resisted hardliners' pressure to restore the old anthem.
