Books, Arts & Manners: Yeltsin

To Low Library at Columbia, where once leftist students defecated in fine refutation of capitalism, came Yeltsin. Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin: Ural born, 58, robust, handsome, blunt—with great comic timing and Oriental eyes that remember, no doubt, a rape done by some foot soldier of Genghis Khan in the thirteenth century. Who will tell us: “I’ve been here only two days and the first thing that I’ve seen—is that capitalism is flourishing.” Outside meanwhile: several Spartacist youth hold up a placard saying, return to the ROAD OF LENIN AND MARX. That road never got paved: some commissar sold the asphalt for fifty packs of Dentine gum. “I think,” said Yeltsin, elected Supreme Soviet member, “that we should throw off false pride and, in general, take much from American experience in all areas.” I don’t know, Boris. You should’ve been at Columbia in 1968.

I was. And, to me, this is an epiphany. The payback for 1,500 hours of sour confrontation and ad hominem abuse. It is enough to hear Yeltsin say—before however many thousand appreciative leftist academics—“All this time we’ve been completing the irreversible construction of socialism. In fact, out of the five components of socialism, only one has been implemented—the nationalization of property. And that was done very badly.” Or, “Power should be transferred from the Party to the local soviets. We have to give enterprises the right to sever their relationship with the ministries. Every social question should be decided locally.” Russians have said that in public before. But never, I think, a Russian who was returning to Moscow.

DK

About the Author

D. Keith Mano

D. Keith Mano was a TV screenwriter and author of ten books, including Take 5, recipient of the 1987 Literary Lion award, and columnist at National Review magazine for 17 years.

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To Low Library at Columbia, where once leftist students defecated in fine refutation of capitalism, came Yeltsin. Boris Nikolaevich Yeltsin: Ural born, 58, robust, handsome, blunt—with great comic timing and Oriental eyes that remember, no doubt, a rape done by some foot soldier of Genghis Khan in the thirteenth century. Who will tell us: “I’ve been here only two days and the first thing that I’ve seen—is that capitalism is flourishing.” Outside meanwhile: several Spartacist youth hold up a placard saying, return to the ROAD OF LENIN AND MARX. That road never got paved: some commissar sold the asphalt for fifty packs of Dentine gum. “I think,” said Yeltsin, elected Supreme Soviet member, “that we should throw off false pride and, in general, take much from American experience in all areas.” I don’t know, Boris. You should’ve been at Columbia in 1968.

I was. And, to me, this is an epiphany. The payback for 1,500 hours of sour confrontation and ad hominem abuse. It is enough to hear Yeltsin say—before however many thousand appreciative leftist academics—“All this time we’ve been completing the irreversible construction of socialism. In fact, out of the five components of socialism, only one has been implemented—the nationalization of property. And that was done very badly.” Or, “Power should be transferred from the Party to the local soviets. We have to give enterprises the right to sever their relationship with the ministries. Every social question should be decided locally.” Russians have said that in public before. But never, I think, a Russian who was returning to Moscow.

DK

About the Author

D. Keith Mano

D. Keith Mano was a TV screenwriter and author of ten books, including Take 5, recipient of the 1987 Literary Lion award, and columnist at National Review magazine for 17 years.