Documents / FOIA release
This Central Intelligence Agency translation, dated 5 November 1990, reproduces the first part of a Literaturnaya Gazeta article by S. Kiselev published on 31 October 1990. It describes the political situation in Lugansk, where a conservative oblast soviet backed by the Communist Party was in conflict with a democratic city soviet. It also covers public distrust of the CPSU, ethnic and labor tensions, and growing calls for territorial autonomy or a move to RSFSR jurisdiction. The text mentions a UFO only as a figure of speech.
“Cooper”1 page
Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.
## UNCLAS 3T *** BEGIN MESSAGE 5 *** SERIAL=91UN0196B UDN=V(6185) CLASS=UNCLAS 3T UNCLAS 3T SERIAL: 91UN0196B PASS: ATTN BBC PRESS CCPY TO UD COUNTRY: USSR SUBJ: TAKE 1 OF 2--POLITICAL SITUATION IN LUGANSK SOURCE: MOSCOW LITERATURNAYA GAZETA IN RUSSIAN 31 OCT 90 P 10 TEXT: //((ARTICLE BY S. KISELEV, LITERATURNAYA GAZETA SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT FOR THE UKRAINIAN SSR: "LUGANSK...IS SEPARATING-- SOCIOPOLITICAL PORTRAIT OF THE CITY IN THE EPOCH OF PERESTROYKA") (TEXT) TODAY, THE SITUATION THAT HAS DEVELOPED IN THIS 500,000-POPULATION CITY REMINDS ONE OF A FIGHT BETWEEN A HEAVY- WEIGHT BOXER WHO IS MANAGED BY AN EXPERIENCED TRAINER AND A NOVICE WHO RELIES FOR HIS SUPPORT ON THE AUDIENCE. THERE IS THE CNSERVATIVE OBLAST SOVIET UNDER THE WARDSHIP OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OBLAST PARTY COMMITTEE, AND OPPOSNG IT IS THE CITY SOVIET, WHERE A STRONG DEMOCRATIC BLOC HAS BEEN ORGANIZED--WHO WILL WIN? AND WIL THE CITY BE DELIVERED A KNOCKOUT BLOW, IF THE OBLAST SUDDENLY TAKES LUGANSK IN AN ECONOMIC BLOCKADE ENCIRCLEMENT? A VERY COMPETENT PUBLIC OPINION POLL, CONDUCTED BY THE LUGANSK VOTERS' ASSOCIATION, ELOQUENTLY SHOWED THE FOLLOWING: ONE AND FOUR TENTHS OF A PERCENT OF THE LUGANSK RESIDENTS AE PLACING THEIR HOPES ON THE CPSU; FIVE PERCENT, ON NEW PARTIES, AND A SLIGHTLY LARGER NUMEER OF PEOPLE, ON STRIKE COMMITTEES. THE REMAINDER OF THOSE POLLED DO NOT BELIEVE IN ANYTHING. THIS IS ON THE ONE HAND. ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE IS THE WARFARE POSITION BETWEEN THE RUKH ((UKRAINIAN PEOPLE'S MOVEMENT FOR PERESTROYKA)), UKRAINIAN REPUBLCAN PARTY, AND UNION OF INDEPENDENT UKRAINIAN YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS, AND THE CPSU. BOTH SIDES ARE SHOOTING AT EACH OTHER FROM A CORNER. SALVOS FROM HE LEFT: WE DO NOT BELIEVE THE COMMUNISTS SALVOS FROM THE RIGHT: BANDERA AND PETLYURA SUPPORTERS FROM THE LEFT: THE FIGHT WITH THE PARTY APPARATUS THAT AT TIMES SLIPS INTO A FIGHT WITH RANK AND FILE COMMUNISTS--AN EFFORT NOT TO LET GO OF POWER THAT BORDERS ON HYSTERIA OF THE DOOMED. BOTH SIDES, ALAS, ARE FIGHTING NOT FOR SOMETHING, BUT AGAINST SOMEONE, WHICH, VERY LIKELY, CAN LEAD TO THE APPEARANCE OF A THIRD FORCE--THE STREETS. BUT FURTHER--EVERYTHING ACCORDING TO A WELL-KNOWN SCENARIO: INSUBORDINATION, RIOTS, TROOPS, A SPECIAL SITUATION, ETC. PASSIONS, IT IS KNOWN, GET AROUSED. SOMEONE WANTS TO STIR UP THE RUSSIANS AGAINST THE UKRAINIANS. SOMEBODY, WANTS TO STIR UP THE WORKERS AGAINST THE COOPERATORS. LUGANSK RESIDENTS AGAINST THE MINERS (AN ANNOUNCEMENT WAS HANGING IN THE DEPARTMENT STORE: "CARPETS ONLY FOR MINERS.")). MINERS AGAINST DEMOCRATS: IT IS SAID THAT UNEMPLOYMENT IS EXPECTED WITH THE TRANSFER TO THE MARKET. THIS ALMOST LED IN SEPTEMBER TO A MINERS' STRIKE IN SUPPORT OF THE PROGRAM...OF RYZHKOV. AND WHEN THE FAMOUS WRITER AND ECONOMIST VASILIY SELYUNIN VISITED LUGANSK IN OCTOBER, WHEN HE GAVE FOUR LECTURES HERE ABOUT THE MARKET, ON THE EVENING BEFORE HTS ARRIVAL, Approved for Release 2) 2010
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FOIA release, from the cia-readingroom collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 3 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.