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By JOHN W. KISER III
Rappahannock News Contributing Writer
On Dec. 12, 1993, “shock therapy” was administered by Russian voters to Moscow’s reformers and their Western supporters in the first free parliamentary elections since the fall of Communism.
The strong showing of ultranationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky, a man previously considered a marginal extremist and not taken seriously, should be viewed as a wakeup call.
With a 55 percent turn out, Zhirinovsky’s Liberal Democratic party took an impressive 23 percent of the vote, 10 points better than the reformist party Russia’s Choice, led by Yegor Gaidar. Yet interpreting Zhirinovsky’s success is not easy. His performance presents something more generically dangerous for democracy in Russia tharf'the sum of his statements and positions, in themselves no small cause for concern.
The week following the elections I was in Moscow and Leningrad, where Zhirinosky’s support was the weakest. Taxi drivers, hotel personnel and scientists, revealed a broad based disenchantment with politics and politicians in general. It is a growing mood of antipolitics, and Zhirinovsky capitalized on it effectively.
One thing I came away certain . of--this is a critical time for the United States to listen to Russians, not preach to them. Zhirinosky is not a phenomenon to be wished
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